“Seal the Deal” is a UN campaign calling for a fair, balanced and effective post-Kyoto climate agreement at the UN Climate Change Conference (popularly known as COP 15), to be held from 7-18 December 2009 in Copenhagen.

During the conference, countries are expected to “seal the deal” on a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions targets. The UN-led Seal the Deal Campaign aims to galvanize political will and public support for reaching the comprehensive global climate agreement target. Reaching a deal will depend not only on the political negotiations but also on the public pressure from around the globe, thus public support must be galvanized. To do this, the United Nations has launched “Seal the Deal”.

This campaign encourages users to sign an online, global petition which will be presented to world leaders. The petition will serve as a reminder that world leaders must negotiate a fair, balanced and effective agreement in Copenhagen, and that they must seal a deal to power green growth, protect our planet and build a more sustainable, prosperous global economy that will benefit all nations and all people.

The conference traces its origins to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, which aimed at coordinating international action against climate change. Six years later the Kyoto Protocol was signed in Japan and two years ago signatories gathered in Bali, Indonesia, to launch negotiations for stronger action against climate change. This process will now culminate at the meeting in Copenhagen.

Climate change is in fact, one of the greatest challenges facing humanity and COP 15 will have the unprecedented opportunity to tackle the climate crisis while also catalyzing the lower-carbon, green growth that is the foundation of long-term economic prosperity.

UNIDO Director-General Kandeh K. Yumkella has also said that "action is needed at the individual level to reduce, reuse and recycle; at the corporate level to invest in energy efficient and low-carbon production; and at the governmental level to “Seal the Deal” at the UN summit on climate change in Copenhagen in December.”

UNIDO is continuously focusing on these issues in a range of major international conferences throughout year 2009. The Vienna Energy Conference took place on 22 to 24 June, 2009 and the Conference on Green Industry in Asia will be held in Manila, Philippines from 9 to 11 September.

For more information and if you would like to get involved, please go to:
www.sealthedeal2009.org

THERE IS NO TIME TO WASTE: STAMP YOUR VOTE AND SEAL THE DEAL!