Avaaz Calls for Urgent Pressure on South Africa to Join Climate Coalition in Paris

Global campaigning community Avaaz has created a petition to put urgent pressure on President Zuma – and the leaders of India, China and Brazil – to join over 100 nations in a climate agreement that they believe would help “avoid catastrophic climate change”.

Avaaz says: “Finally – great news from the global climate talks in Paris! A coalition of more than 100 rich and poor countries from across the planet, which was secretly formed six months ago, announced itself and said it was going to drive through an ambitious legal climate agreement!

“But unless China, South Africa, Brazil and India come onboard, the deal we need for 100% clean won’t happen.

“We have just 48 hours to let them know that people everywhere want them to join this high ambition push. With enough pressure, Brazil, China and South Africa could be moved to join the champions, and India could stop blocking, if they all know they will be blamed for killing this deal.”

Avaaz says for every 10,000 people who sign the petition, delegates will get an SMS straight to their phone inside the plenary at the Climate Summit in Paris.

This coalition – which was started by the Marshall Islands and represents over half the countries in the world – is pushing for 100% clean energy, finance for the poorest countries to make the transition, and a stringent set of rules to hold all countries to account and increase their commitments over time.

Global climate deals have stumbled in the past because of the split between major polluter nations and those countries who feel less responsible, but this new alliance brings them together.

Avaaz is calling on everyone to help this “powerful new group push the other influential nations to join”.

According to Avaaz, “India wants to keep burning coal, but China is already leading the world in renewables. And Brazil has set a very ambitious national goal to transition to clean energy – so there is no reason they can’t sign up to a deal that allows the whole world to go with them. They say we can’t set targets that don’t deal with the interests of the poor, but Angola is inside this coalition, representing the 48 most vulnerable countries.”

In the petition to Zuma, Prime Minister Modi (India), President Xi Jinping (China) and President Rousseff (Brazil), Avaaz says “you have the power to make or break an agreement that secures a safe and clean future for humanity. The world is counting on you.”

If you would like to sign the petition, click here.