World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth

The Plurinational State of Bolivia will host an historic conference on climate change in April with an expected attendance of more than 10,000 people along with government  representatives from more than 50 countries. Many more people are expected to participate via the Internet and in campaign actions on the final day of the conference, 22 April which marks UN Mother Earth Day.

Confirmed speakers include NASA scientist Jim Hansen, Bill McKibben, environmental journalist and leader of 350.org, Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva, Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano, Miguel D’Escoto, former President of UN General Assembly, American actor, director and activist Danny Glover along with leaders from leading environmental organizations and communities at the frontline of climate change.

Bolivia has invited all 192 governments in the UN to attend the conference and is working closely with the United Nations Development Program to bring representatives from nearly all the 49 Least Developed Countries (LDCs), whose populations will be most vulnerable to climate change. Spain, Russia and France have also indicated that they will send representatives and others are still confirming.

The conference was announced by President Evo Morales of Bolivia in the aftermath of the widely denounced outcomes of the Copenhagen UNFCCC conference in December 2009. The aim of the Peoples’ World Conference on Climate Change is to advance an agenda led by civil society organizations and in dialogue with proactive governments dedicated to preventing climate change. The conference aims to analyze the structural causes of climate change, and develop specific proposals and actions for addressing it.