NGOs Begin Work On Moscow Civil Society Round Table

(9 April 2003 — Washington, DC and Moscow, Russia)  The two organizations that are coordinating the upcoming Moscow Civil Society Round Table on Climate Change, The Center for Russian Environmental Policy and the U.S. based Environmental Defense, today launched global outreach with briefings in Moscow and Washington on preparations for the Round Table, which will be held from 1-2 October 2003 in Moscow.  

Today’s briefings initiated a very broad public outreach to establish working groups to prepare background materials, including papers, presentations, and informational brochures, for distribution at the Round Table.  The Round Table, a social forum for participation of civil society, will provide input into the World Climate Change Conference, to be held in Moscow from 29 September to 3 October 2003.  Similar briefings are under development for other regions of the world, to encourage global participation of civil society in the preparations for and conduct of the Round Table. 

The working groups will formulate recommendations for officials and decision-makers on the social aspects of climate change, including the impacts of climate change, mechanisms for combating climate change, and international agreements to address climate change.   Today the Center for Russian Environmental Policy and Environmental Defense invited the help of experts from various fields from around the world for the working groups, which will be formed over the next few weeks. 

Today’s announcement included the establishment of websites that will provide further information on the Round Table, in Russian at www.ecopolicy.ru, and in English at www.ecopolicy.ru/en.

The Center for Russian Environmental Policy was founded in 1993 as a non-governmental, non-profit organization, bringing together environmental specialists to search for solutions to urgent ecological issues on both global and Russian national levels.