cc: m.hulme@uea.ac.uk, alcamo@usf.uni-kassel.de, jaeger@iiasa.ac.at, pier.vellinga@vu.ivm.nl date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 08:41:34 +0100 from: Rob Swart subject: Re: European scientists' letter 2 -Reply to: Merylyn McKenzie-Hedger Dear Merylyn, I am very happy that you are enthusiastic about the idea of presenting a letter by European scientists to the Kyoto negotiations. What we had in mind was a similar procedure as in the US. After the initial drafting of the letter by a limited number of scientists (done), an ngo with more time/resources would take the letter and start collecting signatures through their network, primarily through email, but possibly also through mail/fax. I think we have reached that step. What would be needed is WWF distrbuting a message/letter from WWF accompanying the scientists's letter explaining the plan on their behalf. The letter should be relatively "objective" not to scare scientists that they are used in an unscientific ngo advocacy action. That is why we have approached you rather than Greenpeace, Climate Action Network or Friends of the Earth. I am sure you have your own network of climate scientists, screening the IPCC reports for IPCC lead authors would be an important second step. The people that are in the process now (like Mike Hulme, Joe Alcamo, Jill Jaeger, Pier Vellinga and others) will also provide you with as many names and addresses as they can come up with. I'll talk to Adam Markham about it next week. I propose that we start providing you with names/addresses now. In addition, other ways of collecting signatures may be through leaflets distributed during scientific climate meetings in Europe? Several hundreds of signatures would be the goal, including key people. Unfortunately, sofar we only came up with few names outside Germany/UK/Netherlands. I think we should actively try to get eastern and southern Europeans on board. I believe Joe's suggestion was to aim at a release of the letter in a joint WWF/scientists' press conference at the next AGBM in Bonn, or if that would be too early, in Kyoto. I am not sure to whom the letter should be directed: European heads of state with copies to delegation leaders? Environment Ministers? My question to you would be: could you give us your ideas on how to proceed (possibly with a proposal for an accompanying letter) next week. You may want to discuss it with Mike Hulme, who is closest to you. I hope others will come up with suggestions/reactions and therefore I copy this mail to them. Let's keep in touch. By the way, we are short on UK scientists yet.... Rob At 06:42 PM 8/26/97 +0200, you wrote: >Adma and I have discussed this and are very enthudiastic. Let us know >exaclty what you want from us. I'm away for a week. Count us in. Do >you wan to use our website. > > Dr. Robert J. Swart, RIVM/Air Reserarch Laboratory/Policy Analysis and Scenarios, P.O.Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands, tel. 31-30-2743026, fax. 31-30-2287531, email rob.swart@rivm.nl