At Earth Hour Hopenhagen, UN Secretary-General to Urge World Leaders to Seal a Climate Deal

At Earth Hour Hopenhagen, UN Secretary-General to urge world leaders to seal a climate deal

19:40, 16 December (CET), 2009

16 December 2009 [ Copenhagen ]: UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon will call for world leaders to reach further on climate change and seal the deal on a fair, ambitious and comprehensive agreement when he speaks at Earth Hour Hopenhagen 19:40 CET, Wednesday, 16 December, 2009.

In a public address in Copenhagen, the Secretary-General will speak to an international audience, including 1000 Danish children, as he accepts The People's Orb, a shimmering silver globe containing a 350-gigabyte mosaic of stories, voices, images and actions collected from around the world to create a global mandate for action on climate change in Copenhagen.

As the lights are turned on again at the special Earth Hour event to mark the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen, Ban Ki-moon will receive The People’s Orb from WWF International Director-General Jim Leape and 10-year-old Anne-Katrine Bisgaard Håkansson from Denmark on behalf of all the major climate campaigns, including Seal the Deal, tcktcktck, Raise your Voice , 350.org , Hopenhagen and Vote Earth. Unveiled in Sydney, the Orb travelled to Copenhagen via The Climate Express and was delivered to the host city by honorary custodian, UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner. A series of citizen and official custodians have cared for and showcased The Orb in the lead up to its presentation to the Secretary-General.

The event recalls the hundreds of millions of people in over 4,000 cities and towns in 88 countries throughout the world that voted Earth with their light switch during Earth Hour 2009 (28 March).

WHAT : UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will accept The People's Orb from Jim Leape, Director-General of WWF International and 10-year-old Anne-Katrine Bisgaard Håkansson on behalf of all major climate campaigns, including Seal the Deal, tcktcktck, Raise your Voice , 350.org, Hopenhagen and Vote Earth at Earth Hour Hopenhagen.

WHERE : Copenhagen City Hall Square / Hopenhagen Live

WHEN : 1940pm (local time), Wednesday, 16 December, 2009

1600pm - Kids entertainment and lantern making at the Planetarium

1800pm - Lantern parade from the Planetarium to Copenhagen City Hall Square

1900-2000 Earth Hour Hopenhagen

For more information:

For interviews with Andy Ridley , Earth Hour Executive Director, Earth Hour please contact Kirsten Hodgon on +45 28 62 80 77 ([email protected]) For interviews with CEO WWF Denmark, Gitte Seeberg please contact Guri Kaerulf Frandsen on +45 31 47 8818 ( [email protected] )

Additional information

Popular Danish actor Ken Vedsegaard, Chinese superstar Li Bingbing, pop vocalists Ida Corr and Simon Mathew, The Storm, Alien Beat Club and U.S. actor Bradley Whitford, will entertain over 1000 Danish children and their families prior to Ban Ki-moon's arrival.

The People’s Orb represents the spirit of collaboration from the majority of global climate campaigns including Hopenhagen, tcktcktck, 350.org, UNEP and Earth Hour’s Vote Earth.

About Earth Hour's Vote Earth

Earth Hour's Vote Earth campaign builds on the call for action on climate change provided by millions of people, companies and communities during Earth Hour. The campaign aims to provide a platform for the people of the world to deliver world leaders a mandate for the right decision to be made at the United Nations Climate Summit in Copenhagen in December 2009. Find out more about the campaign at www.earthhour.org Earth Hour's Vote Earth is organised by WWF.

About WWF

WWF is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with almost 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

www.earthhour.org