The clock ticks as Copenhagen gets closer

As UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon warns that vital climate change negotiations have stalled, record label The:Hours have announced that they are recording and launching a ‘musical petition’ as part of the ‘tck tck tck’ campaign for climate justice, aiming for a positive outcome from the UN Copenhagen summit this December.The classic Midnight Oil track ‘Beds Are Burning’ is being re-recorded by a cast of 55 music stars as part of the musical campaign on climate change – and you can check the snippet here www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmytmG9ZE2M.

The Copenhagen summit is widely thought to be the last chance to come to a meaningful solution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change on a global level and it seems that Europe and the USA have fundamental disagreements over the structure of the new international treaty that is meant to be agreed in Copenhagen – with Europe wanting to build on the Kyoto Treaty on climate change – and the US wanting to build a new framework – potentially to protect US interests. With the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warning that greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2015 if we are to avoid a 2% plus change in the climate (and therefor reach the ‘tipping point’ of irreversible climate change) leaving the matter unresolved is simply not an option. Ban told the Guardian “we are deeply concerned that the negotiations are not making much headway. It is absolutely and crucially important for leaders to demonstrate their political will, leadership, and give a clear political guidelines to negotiators. They should be responsible for the future of this entire humanity”.

And what are they doing – they are arguing …. and the clock is tck, tck, tcking: See http://www.youtube.com/user/time4climatejustice

Beds are Burning factoids

Former Midnight Oil frontman and now Australian Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett says he will not join the 55 celebrities including Simon le Bon in reprising one of Midnight Oil’s greatest hits in the name of climate change. Garrett confirmed he and the band did collaborate with the Geneva-based Global Humanitarian Forum on a revamp of Beds Are Burning, but will not take part in the recording. “The band were obviously aware of it and were happy to contribute to

[the song] being reworked,” a spokesman for Mr Garrett said. Celebrities featured include Duran Duran, French Piaf actress Marion Cotillard, Senegalese star Youssou N’dour, heavy metal band Scorpions and Chinese singer Khalil Fong.

The song is a political song about giving native Australian lands back to the Pintupi, who were among the very last people to come in from the desert. These ‘last contact’ people began moving from the Gibson Desert settlements and missions in the 1930s. More were forcibly moved during the 1950s and 1960s to the Papunya settlement. In 1981 they left to return to their own country and established the Kintore Community. It is now a thriving little community with a population of about 400.

Beds are Burning, the first track from Midnight Oil’s 1987 Diesel and Dust album reached #1 in the South African charts, #3 in Holland’s Top 40, #5 in France’s Top 50, number #6 in the UK charts and #17 in the UK Billboard Hot 100.

The clock ticks as Copenhagen gets closer

The clock ticks as Copenhagen gets closer

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