Faster, Stronger, Sooner

In January, Golden Year 6 (2009), our Association members had the great honor of interviewing Dr. Keith Allott, Head of Climate Change for the World Wildlife Fund, now more commonly known as the WWF in the United Kingdom (UK). Since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report in 2007, this conservation organization has been working tirelessly to bring awareness of the rapid acceleration of global warming. In speaking of the life-giving tropical rainforests, Dr. Allott said, “By using up huge volumes of land to produce meat, we are accelerating the rate of deforestation and fueling climate change.” WWF campaigns for 2009 include Earth Hour on March 28 and One Planet Food, designed to help inform people of food choices. Members are also working with major food companies and retailers, helping them to shift to a more sustainable path.

It is for the WWF report “Faster, Stronger, Sooner,” and the organization’s continuing work to better the world that Supreme Master Ching Hai offered a letter of thanks and a contribution of US$50,000 (£32,984), which were delivered by our Association members along with some of Master’s publications and a homemade vegan cake. After the interview, many in the offices of the WWF-UK headquarters enjoyed the vegan cake and expressed their sincere thanks to our beloved Master.

The following is the thank you letter sent from Dr. Keith Allott to Master on January 19.

Dear Supreme Master Ching Hai

I am writing to thank you for your very generous contribution to WWF’s work on climate change.

As you know, climate change is perhaps the single greatest threat facing the planet this century. We are already seeing the impacts occurring faster than scientists predicted – with the rapid melting of the Arctic being just one prominent example. At the same time, the scale and urgency of the challenge, and the global nature of the threat and the solution, can appear daunting.

However, I believe that WWF’s role as a global organization gives us a unique opportunity, and obligation, to act on this issue. Indeed, I regard it as a great privilege that I am able to work closely with colleagues around the world, in vulnerable poor countries as well as rich, polluting nations, to help deliver solutions.

This year, the WWF international network is focusing its efforts on the need to secure a strong new Global Deal at the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen. We are working in all the key economies to alert leaders to the threats to the natural world, to the opportunities to develop clean energy solutions and stop deforestation, and to ensure that any new agreement has fairness at its heart and so respects the right of the world’s poorest nations to develop. We will also be seeking to raise a massive public voice on this issue through Earth Hour on 28 March – we would be delighted to send you more details of this initiative if it would be of interest.

Here in WWF-UK we are working hard to support this global effort, and to ensure that the UK Government plays as progressive a role as possible on the international stage, and also through its domestic policies. Last November, we helped to secure a significant victory with the Climate Change Act, the first legislation of this kind in the world. We are now focusing our efforts on preventing the threat of new unabated coal power stations, and promoting a revolution in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

We are also working to help vulnerable communities and ecosystems to adapt to the levels of climate change that are already inevitable. We are currently developing a series of projects, and building capacity, in countries such as Nepal, Brazil and the Coral Triangle around the South Pacific islands.

The road in front of us is challenging, but WWF is determined to ensure as good an outcome as possible for people and nature. Your contribution will help us greatly in that task.

Best regards

Keith Allott

Head of Climate Change, WWF-UK