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Thursday 24th November 7.30pm

COP17: Tipping point for the international climate talks.
The Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012. The UN climate talks in Durban starting late November 2011 could be our last chance to save the current international climate deal. Industrialised countries are pushing to replace it with a voluntary system for reduction of emissions. A new fund to deliver finance needed by countries affected by climate change is in danger of being given to the World Bank for loans instead of grants or reparations.

Sarah Reader, climate justice campaigner for World Development Movement, will update us on the recent G20 talks and the upcoming UN climate talks and suggest actions we can take. She will be joined by activist John Halladay of Greenpeace.

Venue: RISC 35-39 London St, Reading RG1 4PS
Free event.

Flyer: COP17 event_Reading 24Nov11

Tuesday 13th December 2011, 7:30pm

Our end of year social. See the film Debtocracy, and enjoy nibbles and a chat at members house. All welcome. If you would like to attend, please email oxwdm@phonecoop.coop.

About the film: Debtocracy is a documentary about the financial crisis that has struck Greece; the collapse of public finances; the €110bn loan from Europe and the International Monetary Fund; and the savage spending cuts to come.

Saturday 3rd December

The annual Green Fair returns for it’s 31st year. Oxford WDM will be holding a stall at the event, and campaigning on food speculation. If you can help out on the stall, please contact us on oxwdm [at] phonecoop.coop.

Venue: Oxford Town Hall, St Aldates, Oxford OX1 1BX

Times open: 10:30am-4:30pm

Saturday 19th November

OxWDM will be holding a stall at the annual One World Fair organised by the Oxford Oxfam Group. Venue: Oxford Town Hall, St Aldates.

If you can help out on the stall for an hour or two on the day, please email us on oxwdm [at] phonecoop.coop.

A 3-hour debate will take place on Thursday 15th September (11:30am), in the Main Chamber of the House of Commons on Food Security and Famine Prevention in Africa.

This is a great opportunity for MPs to raise the role of financial speculation which has been driving up global food prices and is exacerbating the effects of the famine.

Action: Email your MP to let them know about this debate and encourage them to attend and raise questions about price volatility being driven by excessive financial speculation.

Template email/letter

Dear …MP,
Following on from our correspondence/ meeting about food speculation, I would like to inform you about a 3 hour debate in the Main Chamber of House of Commons on Food Security and Famine Prevention in Africa. This will take place at 11.30am on Thursday 15th September. This would be a good opportunity to raise the role of excessive financial speculation in driving up global food prices and how price volatility is exacerbating the effects of the famine. It would be good if you could mention the increasing support for regulation from international institutions such as the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation as well as the move to regulate in the US. You may also find this piece interesting as the cost of food aid has doubled since 2001 http://www.wdm.org.uk/news/donations-crisis-appeals-buy-half-much-food-2001.

I have attached our briefing on excessive food speculation which will provide you with background information. In the meantime if you would like any further information please feel free to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

YOUR NAME

MP briefing

The details of the motion which MPs will be voting on at the end of the debate is as follows:
Food Security and Famine Prevention in Africa
That this House welcomes the contribution of the British public, via the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), and the British Government to the famine relief effort in the Horn of Africa;

Recognises that emergency food relief must always be the last resort and that improving the productivity and resilience of domestic agricultural systems in Africa must be a priority for the UK and international donor community;

Calls upon the Government to increase its focus on improving awareness around nutrition and agriculture in the developing world to support farmers and secure greater international food resilience and to champion the welfare of those in the developing world in the discussions on food price volatility at the upcoming G20 Summit in Cannes.

The people of Madagascar are being evicted from the land on which they live, and have done so for generations. Some of the reasons this is happening so that national or foreign investors can to engage in agribusiness, real estate or tourism development, or for the land to be sold to a foreign company to undertake mining. As well as destorying their homes and livelihoods, these land grabs will push the people of Madagascar further into poverty and cause environmental destruction. At the same time, the profits from the land grabs won’t help the Madagascan economy, rather they will return to multinationals from the global North.

Join the people of Madagascar to fight the land grabs. Sign the Collective for the Defense of Malagasy Land (TANY) petition. The petition is in French, but you can view the English translation.

To take action you have to fill in:
• Your name
• Your email address
• Your profession
• Your town
• Your country of residence
Then click ‘valider’
• You will then be sent an email in French and you need to click on the link to confirm your signature.