At the beginning of 2009, faced with a climate in crisis, a Government not taking it seriously and the huge opportunity that the Copenhagen summit presented, we decided it was time to get a lot of people to step up and say yes, we want action on climate change and we want it now.
And what a lot of people we got! The Sign On counter has gone past 200,000! That's 200,000 Kiwis supporting a 40% by 2020 emission reduction target for New Zealand.
Copenhagen was not the success we'd hoped for. Far from it. National political self interests overrode the precious opportunity to resolve differences and agree a fair, ambitious and legally-binding global climate deal. Even John Key's response was that the outcome didn't cut it.
But do we despair? No we do not! Copenhagen may have been a failure but the fact that it took place at such a high political level, with 120 global leaders in attendance, is positive. The presidents and prime ministers who travelled to the summit did so because of pressure from people like you and me. Many told their people they were off to save the world. They may have failed this time, but at least they appreciated the magnitude of the task.
They must now reach a deal in 2010 and John Key needs to do the right thing and Sign On.
As for you and me and Sign On, Our work is far from done; in fact it just got decidedly more urgent. As Sign On ambassador Lucy Lawless said at the end of last year: "we're not stopping now!"
We're 200,000 strong and we can only get stronger. We should be proud of our achievements and steely in our resolve to keep up the fight. Check out this video of the highlights of 2009.
As a Sign On supporter, you are not alone. Millions of people around the world have mobilised over the last year, demanding action on climate change, and are now speaking with one voice.
So I'm looking forward to the year ahead! Stay tuned…. We have plans.