MEDIA ADVISORY
For Immediate Release
April 12, 2010

Council of Canadians to attend historic Cochabamba Climate Change Conference

Ottawa – In response to the failure of the Copenhagen climate negotiations to produce meaningful international action on the climate crisis, the Bolivian government is hosting a Peoples’ Conference on Climate Change and Rights of Mother Earth.

WHAT: The Council of Canadians will be sending a delegation to participate in the Conference alongside over 13,000 attendees including government representatives, social movements, non-governmental organizations, intellectuals and Indigenous Peoples from around the world.  

WHO: Anil Naidoo (Blue Planet Project Organizer), Maude Barlow (National Chairperson), Andrea Harden-Donahue (Energy Campaigner), and Brent Patterson (Director of Campaigns and Communications). Maude Barlow has accepted a formal invitation from the Bolivian government to participate as a main plenary panelist.

WHERE: Cochabamba, Bolivia.

WHEN: The Council of Canadians team will be on the ground in Cochabamba from April 19-23, 2010, available for comment on conference proceedings.  

The Council of Canadians has sent Prime Minister Stephen Harper an open letter requesting a public response on whether the Canadian government plans to send a high-level delegation to this historic climate conference, but to date no response has been received. The participation of government representatives from more than 50 countries at the Cochabamba climate conference includes the majority of ‘Least Developed Countries’ (LDCs) whose populations will be most vulnerable to climate change, as well as France, Russia and Spain.

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For more information, contact:

Andrea Harden-Donahue, Energy Campaigner, Council of Canadians, 613-218-5800, aharden@canadians.org (can be contacted directly while in Bolivia).

Brent Patterson, Director of Campaigns and Communications, Council of Canadians, 613-882-4408, bpatterson@canadians.org (can be contacted directly while in Bolivia).

Dylan Penner, Media Officer, Council of Canadians, (613) 795-8685; .

Read more at www.canadians.org/cochabamba