From the Pacific to Copenhagen, donations from GetUp members helped send a group of five impressive young delegates from the Pacific Islands. Their messages have been vital at these talks. They have let the world know their homes are already under urgent threat from climate change.

And their words echoed from an address in the plenary session to interviews with press from around the world. Their stories have helped wake this conference up to the scale of the global challenge we all face together.

We’ve put together this video so you can hear directly from the delegates themselves on why being at COP15 is so important to them, and the countries they represent. Click below to hear directly from Christina, Carlos, Paul, Luana and Rikana.

Reports are coming in that Kevin Rudd has been bullying our Pacific neighbours at the conference – many countries that these young delegates come from. Click here to call Stand up to Rudd the bully.

With so many Heads of State gathered under the one roof, this conference will shape the fate of the world. But as disputes erupt between rich and poor countries the talks are breaking down, jeopardising the world’s chances of reaching the deal it needs to solve the climate crisis.

If Kevin Rudd is to come home with a treaty–one that is fair, ambitious and binding, the only kind all countries can agree to–then Australia needs to be a leader in these negotiations, not a spoiler. Make sure that Kevin Rudd sees your support for climate leadership when he arrives in Copenhagen in 36 hours and meets with NGOs by clicking here to sign our petition:

http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/SaveKyotoSaveADeal

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Want to find out more about GetUp’s Pacific delegation? Click on the photos below to find out more. Plus stay tuned for a special Pacific delegation report back this week!

Carlos Kusto	Paul Nalau	Luana Bosanquet-Heays
Rikana Toroma	Christina Ora

Christina Ora, GetUp Pacific Delegate with Penny Wong at the Australian Ambassador’s reception last night.

As climate talks drag on, low-lying atolls are already being flooded.

By Christina Ora, 11th December 2009

I am 17 years old. For my entire life, countries have been negotiating a climate agreement. My future is in front of me. In the year that I was born, amid an atmosphere of hope, the world formed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to solve the climate crisis.

This week I told negotiators at the main plenary session of the UN Climate Change Conference that time is running out and my generation needs them to work together to come up with the agreement that we deserve.
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There’s agreement here in Copenhagen on one point so far – that the most important thing Australians can do to influence the outcome of the climate negotiations is turn up to tomorrow’s Walk Against Warming. Check out this exclusive video from Copenhagen explaining why:

See you on Saturday,
The GetUp team

Click here to nip Tony Abbott’s scare campaign against climate action in the bud.

Australia plays a significant role in the climate negotiations in Copenhagen, but the deal that our negotiators push for could be compromised by Tony Abbott’s irresponsible climate scare campaign back home. To learn more, check out our latest video straight from the Copenhagen climate conference.

Take action now in our talk back radio campaign and neutralise the myths that Abbott is spreading in the Australian media.

Inspiring stuff – GetUp members funded 17 year-old Solomon Islander Christina Ora’s trip to Copenhagen. Yesterday she was selected as the only youth representative to address the conference – and did an absolutely amazing job! That’s the power of our movement – thanks to everyone who chipped in to make this magical moment possible. Check out the video here, and stay tuned for more updates from our fantastic Pacific delegates!

Click here for a transcript of the video (pdf).

What’s it really like to be on the ground in Copenhagen and attending COP15? GetUp/350 Australia Organiser Emily Mulligan shares her thoughts on what it’s like at this crucial conference.
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