Canadians talk climate change for UN

More than 100 Canadians gathered in Calgary this weekend as part of a global consultation on climate change.

Participants drafted recommendations to be presented to delegates to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December.

"This is the first time that we, the citizenry, [have] been able to bypass the governments and get their voices heard directly by the decision-makers," said Peter Zuurbier of Calgary. "It's not being filtered by the Canadian government."

Edna Einsiedel, the project director with World Wide Views Canada, the group behind the climate-change consultation, said one recommendation put forward in Calgary is that the wealthiest nations come to the aid of the poorest.

"There should be a global fund established to help the poorest countries be able to address their emission problem, and so there is technology transfer between the rich countries and the poor countries," she said.

Participants also recommended a reduction of 25 to 40 per cent in carbon emissions as early as 2020, but Einsiedel admitted this could be a tough sell.

"I'm optimistic, but at the same time I recognize there are going to be disagreements," she said.

The Denmark-based World Wide Views has held similar meetings around the world, helped by financial support from the City of Copenhagen, the Norwegian government and other sources on different continents.

A total of 103 delegates were chosen from across Canada. The number from each province depended on the regional population.

"Albertans and Calgarians are just like every other Canadian, in that we have environmental concerns, the same as everyone else," said Geoff Keyser of Calgary, chosen for the meeting in his city, the corporate centre of Canada's fossil fuel industry.