Presidents, the Climate is in Your Hands!

Greenpeace activists used a laser projector to create a call to action near from President Obama's hotel: "Leaders Act! Save Climate!" Greenpeace demands that Presidents' Medvedev and Obama take personal responsibility for averting catastrophic climate change and commit to personally attend the Copenhagen Climate Summit in December. The ongoing negotiations to get a good deal for the climate at the UN talks in December demands their personal attention to develop new climate agreement which guarantees the prevention social and environmental catastrophes.

To stop catastrophic climate change, developed countries must reduce their greenhouse gas emissions BY 40% BY 2020 COMPARED TO 1990 LEVELS AND GET THEM DOWN TO ZERY BY 2050.

Both Russian and the United States plans to reduce emissions are far from what is required to solve the problem. Currently Washington plans cuts by 2020 amounting to only 14% of their current level. In Russia, by contrast, over the same period the volume of greenhouse emissions would increase by 36% from their current level.

"Greenpeace welcomes any progress during the US-Russia meeting on nuclear disarmament. But, the planet faces a new human made threat - climate change. We must both end the threat of a nuclear winter and avert the threat of catastrophic global warming," said Vladimir Chuprov Energy Unit Head of Greenpeace Russia.

Civilization has given mankind not only benefits but also put the planet on brink of ecological disaster. As a result release of hundreds of billions of tons of carbon dioxide TO THE ATMOSPHERE OVER THE PAST TWO AND A HALF CENTURIES, THE average temperature on Earth HAS INCREASED by almost 1 degree. As a result of these changes THE DEVELOPING World already FACES enormous economic losses. WITHOUTH DRASTIC MEASURES THAT LIMIT WARMING BELOW 2 degrees, the losses COULD be comparable to the losses during the world wars.

"The clean energy technologies to replace fossil fuel use already exist and the world has enough financial resources to switch to these technologies," said Vladimir Chuprov. "The main block is the political will: politicians are not ready to change relationships in business and society formed IN THE last CENTURIES."

"At their first meeting in April 2009 Presidents of Russia and US agreed to open new page in the relationship between the two countries. Tackling climate change must be on that page," added Vladimir Chuprov.

Contact: Vera Bakasheva - +7-495-9887460, Vladimir Chuprov - +7-903-1294651

News Editor

As part of a Copenhagen agreement Greenpeace is calling for:

. Global emissions to peak by 2015 and decline rapidly thereafter reaching as close to zero as possible by mid-century . Developed countries, as a group, to reduce emissions by at least 40% by 2020 (compared to 1990 levels). At least three quarters of these reductions must be achieved domestically.

. Developing countries to reduce their projected emissions growth by 15-30% by 2020, with support from industrialised countries. The establishment of a funding mechanism to stop deforestation and associated emissions in all developing countries by 2020, with key areas (Amazon, Congo Basin and the Paradise Forests in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea) achieving zero deforestation by 2015.

According Greenpeace alternative energy scenario Russia could reduce greenhouse emissions in energy, transport and industry by 37% by 2020, COMPARED T0 1990 LEVELS. To do this the state needs to implement the plans of the Russian President to reduce the energy intensity of economy by 40%.