EUROPEAN GREENS LOOKING FORWARD TO 2nd GLOBAL GREENS CONGRESS IN SAO PAULO, BRAZIL, MAY 1st to 4th: Global Greens to adopt world climate change action plan and formulate green strategy to tackle global food crisis
The European Green Party is sending a large delegation to the 2nd Global Greens congress to be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil from May 1st to 4th 2008.
More than 800 delegates from more than 80 countries and from every continent, including considerable delegations from Africa and the Asia-Pacific Region, will take part in this exciting and groundbreaking meeting. It will focus on how Greens can take the leading role in combatting the global ecological, social and economic challenge of climate change. Brazil was chosen as the venue of the 2nd Global Greens Congress because that country is certain to play a crucial role in what happens to the planet over the next few decades, for example, in relation to the question of agrofuels and the use of fertile land to produce fuel instead of food. São Paulo in particular is the ideal venue for the Congress as, with more than 18 million inhabitants, the city presents all the problems and ingenious solutions of a mega-city side-by-side. Greens are elected there, and have hundreds of elected representatives in city, state and national governments throughout Brazil.
The European delegation, of 50 voting delegates and 80 other Green representatives, politicians and policy experts, will include European Green Party Co-Spokespersons Ulrike Lunacek and Philippe Lamberts, the EGP Committee, and other prominent European politicians including; Reinhard Bütikofer, the Co-Chairperson of the German Green Party; Green MEP Rebecca Harms and Cécile Duflot, the National Secretary of the French Greens.
Speaking before leaving for Brazil, Ulrike Lunacek, the EGP Co-Spokesperson said: "Greens have always advocated "thinking and acting globally and locally" as an integral part of our way of doing politics. This Congress will ensure that Greens from all over the world will be able to work even more effectively together to combat global problems like climate change, rising food prices and the disparity between the world's rich and poor. Our main objective will be to establish a joint Green climate crisis action plan for the next decade, on which Green parties and movements around the world can work cooperatively, showing the way ahead for governments and communities alike. Greens have been and will continue to be the driving force in the struggle against global warming and the destructive social, economic and environmental effects it is having. Globally, we aim to draw up strategies to overcome the climate crisis, considering a post-Kyoto Protocol world and the scenarios that the world and the women and men in it will have to face. Nationally, regionally and locally, we expect to establish specific demands that, through Green politics, have to be included in the agendas of our present and future governments."
EGP Co-Spokesperson Philippe Lamberts continued: "Among the most important other declarations to be discussed and hopefully adopted in São Paulo will be a declaration on how best to protect biodiversity, a declaration on the future of the Global Greens and a Green Charter for big cities. We will also be formulating a green strategy to tackle the global food crisis. One of the most significant texts to be discussed will be entitled "21 points for the 21st Century". This document aims to set out an action plan which Green Parties throughout the world can use to formulate policies on a wide range of issues, from environmental protection to promoting social justice, and from intercultural dialogue to food security. "
From the media's point of view, this Congress will include a number of presentations from globally renowned Green politicians. The meeting will be officially opened by the Brazilian President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. As well as the European politicians mentioned above, the Congress will include the President of the Brazilian Green Party, José Luiz de França Penna;;Brazilian Green MP Fernando Gabeira;former US Congresswoman and candidate for the US Green Party nomination for President of the United States, Cynthia McKinney; leader of the Canadian Green Party, Elizabeth May and leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Bob Brown.And the Congress will also be addressed by Juan Carlos LeCompte, the husband of Colombian Green Ex-Presidential Candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who has been held hostage by FARC for more than six years. The Global Greens will demand her immediate release and that of all the other hostages held by FARC and a negotiated political agreement on disarmament between the Uribe government and FARC.
The congress will be held at the Memorial da America Latina in São Paulo.
There will be a media room at the Congress venue with all the facilities that journalists will need and media and communications officers will be on hand to assist you and facilitate interviews with the key participants. A more detailed media programme will follow in the next few days.
Journalists interested in covering the Congress should contact:
Helmut Weixler, the Head of the Greens/EFA press office who as of Sunday 27th April will be available on Brazilian mobile number
+ 55 21 81 86 59 40 and by email at helmut.weixler@europarl.europa.eu
Graham Burgess, European Green Party Communications Officer on +32 477 902 023 and by email at graham.burgess@europeangreens.org (a Brazilian mobile number will follow)
Mara Prado, Partido Verde do Brasil. Tel no: +55 (11) 9127-4346and by email at maraprado@uol.com.br
The Website of Global Greens 2008 can be found at www.globalgreens.org.br
