Don’t be stupid! Shekhar Kapur urges world climate leaders

• Shekhar Kapur joined Greenpeace activists this morning at the receding Rohtang glacier in the Himalayas, to send a message to the upcoming New York UN Climate Summit, that it was necessary to set aside short-sighted political and business interests and put people and the planet first. The same evening, he will join PVR Cinemas, the Tcktcktck campaign and Greenpeace at the green carpet premiere of the film The Age of Stupid to be attended by celebrities, bureaucrats and prominent citizens of Delhi.
• Kapur beamed live from the Himalayas to join the global premiere of The Age of Stupid at 7.15am (IST) on the International Day of Climate Action. Kapur said: "Standing at the Rohtang glacier that's melting away, and knowing that this means our rivers including the Ganges are slowly disappearing, I am humbled and inspired. The prospect of water wars frightens me. I fear for the future of my nine-year old daughter Kaveri. I am not stupid, and none of us can afford to be anymore."
• Franny Armstrong's The Age of Stupid is this year's most powerful climate movie and its green carpet premiere coincides with the New York summit on climate change convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The summit is being seen as an important milestone on the way to a climate deal in the December Copenhagen talks.
• The Age of Stupid stars Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking back at "archive" footage from 2008 and asking: why didn't we stop climate change when we had the chance?
• Ajay Bijli, Chairman and Managing Director, PVR Ltd., said: "In the time of climate change, companies and corporates will be known for their commitment or lack of commitment towards change. It cannot be business as usual, as before. PVR, a leading company in the entertainment industry, has made green and environmental issues a part and parcel of their CSR work. We have also been trying to mainstream the issue of climate change in our business practices, in our everyday work."
• Vinuta Gopal, Climate Campaigner, Greenpeace India, said: "Leaders must act now. The responsibility for solving the climate crisis rests squarely on the shoulders of the men and women gathered at the UN in New York. It's time to drop the posturing, accept the science, and agree that together they will take necessary action to pull the world back from the brink of climate chaos."
• Julia Del Carmen Sanchez, coordinator of the Tcktcktck campaign, said: "As concerned citizens and members of civil society, our work is cut out for us in the coming weeks and months. Only if we are able to mobilize to a degree that we become a force to contend with will our leaders act responsibly on climate change. The aim of the different actions that the Tcktcktck campaign is supporting - such as the green carpet premieres of The Age of Stupid - is to mount growing pressure on our world leaders for action."

Notes to the editor:

 1. Following the UN Summit, G20 leaders will travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where climate change is also on the agenda, in the form of financial contributions from the industrialised world to support adaptation, mitigation and forest protection in developing countries.

 2. Tcktcktck is an online and offline mobilization campaign which brings together an unprecedented alliance of faith groups, non-governmental organizations, trade unions and individuals at this crucial time to call for a fair, ambitious and binding climate change treaty at the UN Conference of the Parties in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2009. More than 1 million citizens from around the world have already signed on to its petition. For more information visit: www.tcktcktck.org

 3. As part of a Copenhagen agreement, Greenpeace is calling for:

(i) Global emissions to peak by 2015 and decline rapidly thereafter, reaching as close to zero as possible by mid-century.

(ii)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.

(iii) Developing countries to reduce their projected emissions growth by 15%-30% by 2020, with support from industrialised countries.

(iv) The establishment of a funding mechanism to stop deforestation and associated emissions in developing countries by 2020.

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Greenpeace is an independent organisation with presence in over 40 countries that acts to protect the environment and promote peace by changing attitudes and behaviour. Greenpeace India is funded by individual Indian donors.