UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has confirmed he will be accepting a message from the people of the world to pass on to world leaders gathering in Copenhagen for the final stages of the UN summit on climate change.The giving of The People's Orb, a shimmering 20cm silver sphere loaded with global stories, voices and images calling for decisive action on climate change to Ban Ki-moon is to be the culminating act of Earth Hour in Copenhagen on Wednesday 16th of December, happening when citizens of the city now in the world's spotlight turn their lights back on.
"The People's Orb carries the hopes and dreams of hundreds of millions of people from all over the world – an urgent call for a global response to climate change," said Jim Leape, Director-General of WWF International. "So, as heads of state gather in Copenhagen, it is fitting that Ban Ki-moon, who has been an eloquent champion for climate action, should carry the Orb into the final negotiations.
The lights of Copenhagen are to be turned off for one hour from 7pm on Wednesday 16 December.
The Orb has travelled from Sydney, Australia carried by a succession of honorary custodians and arrived in Copenhagen aboard the Climate Express, a train which started its journey at the site of the last major climate treaty in Kyoto, Japan.
At the heart of The People's Orb is a 350 gigabyte hard drive which will retain enough memory for the final story – that of how world leaders united in Copenhagen to save the world from catastrophic climate change.
