December, 2009

It's snowing. It's cold. I've got flu and someone's dismantled my bike trying to nick the rear gears.

But I'm happy.

I can see a proud crow through the window, stark black against the bleak cold whiteness of the day. There are several tits flitting across the open spaces between the shrubs. All this is idyllic, but it's not the source of my happiness.

What's giving me a warm glow is reflecting on the past twelve months:

•  We've had the first year of our London House Sparrow Parks Project. It will help find out if a lack of insects is behind their shrinking population
• We've laid the foundations for a new project in east London's Lee Valley
• We've had record recruitment levels
• Made firm progress in our bid to save some Sumatran rainforest...and..
• Staged the biggest ever UK march against government complacency when it comes to tackling climate change.

I say complacency. It's more short-sightedness. The problem calls for some pretty bruising long-term solutions and politicians worldwide have only got their eyes focused on the next election. If you agree that short-term interests should be forgotten to help address this vital issue, please sign our Letter to the Future.

We're also getting ready to launch a new and visionary blueprint that will help business and industry along the Thames corridor make the most of opportunities open to them, in harmony with wildlife and natural landscapes. It's taking time, but learning lessons from history and using the latest climate predictions, we can work with nature to help wildlife and people survive what is going to be a difficult time ahead.

There have been some down-sides to the year too. Sparrow and starling numbers continue to fall. Fewer swifts were recorded this year than last. The illegal killing of birds of prey such as hobbies and peregrines continues. And we recently discovered that Asia's vultures are sensitive to a second drug commonly used across the world that is sending them to oblivion faster than the dodo vanished.

There's lots to smile about, so here's an end of year toast. If 2009 was the year of recognition of common problems, let 2010 be the year of solutions.

Cheers.

More than sixty thousand people, marched through London and Glasgow on Saturday as part of The Wave. Thank you to every one of you. This makes it the UK's biggest demo on climate change, sending a clear signal to our Government and world leaders.

In London, we set-off from Grosvenor Square and to the beat of drums, accompanied by trumpets, horns and whistles, surged on "wave" like through Berkley Square, Picadilly and Trafalgar Square.

When I reached Westminster tube station, the line of people stretched back up the Mall as far as I could see, but had already passed through Parliament Square, past the Palace of Westminster. It went on, snaking across Lambeth Bridge, along the Southbank, looping back on itself across Westminster bridge, encircling any MP's inside Parliament. As Big Ben struck three, we roared and whistled to speak up for nature and for those who couldn't make it for the march.

This was a demonstration of public frustration and anger for the lack of action to tackle climate change. The RSPB, as part of the Stop Climate Chaos Coaltion, is calling for ministers to go to Copenhagen to agree a fair, binding and ambitious plan.

People of all ages and from the UK's diverse communities came together for this event.

There were several political parties, lots of faith groups, Unions, NHS workers, students, social and community organisations and environmental campaigners; all united by this one important cause.

Is it enough to convince politicians here and around the world to do something serious? We'll find out at the conclusion of the Copenhagen talks.

What we called for today was a conclusion that will be:

Fair. We need huge investment to help countries most at risk from the impact of climate change. Mind you, that's a smaller investment than we've seen thrown at the world's banks. We need developed countries to agree to deep cuts in carbon emissions. We'd like to see 40% cuts by 2020 in the UK.

• Binding. We need agreements that don't allow nations to back peddle, monitored and enforced by an international mechanism.
• Finally we need to be ambitious in our aims. Quitting the reliance on coal and investing in clean energy sources is a must. But we don't want blind development of windfarms or tidal energy. We must learn from history and ensure that new energy sources don't come at the expense of the environment.

 If you weren't one of the 60,000 people in London, Glasgow or Belfast.. then don't despair. There's still a way for you to make your voice heard. Sign our Letter to the Future. As with the march, numbers are important. As we head towards a general election we will have to show that there is huge public support for change, when investment in energy, services and development doesn't, literally, cost the Earth.

Blue is the colour, not the mood. We've a carnival spirit as we prepare to gather for The Wave, a demonstration of public feeling for action addressing the threat of climate change.

Yes, I do believe humankind's actions are driving our climate ever faster towards a critical moment where the balance will be tipped against life as we know it. The recent media circus around the emails from climate scientists is a distraction from the fact that we all face a very difficult future. The sheer volume and breadth of evidence supporting the fact that we're in the jaws of a man made crisis of global proportion is only matched by the idiocy of focusing on a couple of emails speculating on a statistical anomally.

Mind you, we've had a whale of a time getting here haven't we? Discovering fire, learning how to manage our environment. Cook food, domesticate livestock, exploit natural resources and discover faster and easier ways to pass our time. It's been a blast. Now, we've grown-up and it's time to act responsibly.. but let's have a celebratory event to show we can still have fun and be adults too. The Wave is our way of making a political point without anger or apportioning blame. For once, the saying, "we're all in this together" is really true. Put simply, we want a fair, binding and ambitious deal agreed by our representatives at Copenhagen.

• We want it to be fair in that developed countries make the biggest contributions to support those who don't have the infrastructure or resources to offer as much to meet the challenge of climate change.
• We need binding agreements so that promises can't be broken if short term gain starts to outweigh the longterm aim.
• Finally, ambition. To limit average global temperature change to no more than 2 degrees celsius, we need to change lifestyles and deeply rooted traditions or systems. We need to be ambitious with energy sources, with transport, food and society.

The RSPB is seen by many as a club for middle-class, middle-englanders. We're not. We're an inclusive and passionate conservation charity that believes in social justice and development ... in harmony with, and supported by, the natural world. Wildlife can't exist without the food, space and clean water necesary for life. Neither can people. That's why we'll be gathering in Grosvenor Square, making some noise and having some fun tomorrow [Saturday].

The more people there are.. the more powerful our message will be. Come and join us on the march, wear something blue, we'll create a wave advancing on Westminster, culminating in a symbollic wave of hands and noise at three o-clock..  and then send us your comments and images of the day.

We believe we can make a difference. But we need as many people as possible to speak up for wildlife to make our collective voices heard in Copenhagen. Believe with us and join The Wave.