Only one week left before Copenhagen Climate Summit. Everybody at Oxfam is frantically exchanging information about which Heads of States are attending the summit, what are the latest updates on content, how to respond to recent developments and above all: how to keep public pressure at a maximum so there will be a fair and safe deal in Copenhagen.

In Latin America, growing civil society awareness and concern is evident across the region. In Peru, Oxfam will organise a Bus Tour in Lima on November 27th, different embassies will be visited, starting with United Nations, European Union, Canada, China and United States. A representative of the civil society will hand in a document to every embassy with the requirements for a fair agreement in Copenhagen. In Mexico and Haiti, climate hearings will be organised at the beginning of December, and in several countries mobilisation is underway for the international action day on December 12th. These actions are organised to mobilise citizens, to call on their governments to send their Heads of State to Copenhagen, and to demand a just and fair deal.

Something very important happened this Friday in Haiti, Oxfam published a report with the title: "A gathering storm, climate change and poverty in Haiti". It tells the story of a country deeply affected by hurricanes and tropical storms, which are predicted to get worse in the coming years. It is likely that hurricane's intensity could increase by 5 - 10% by around 2050, and it is predicted that rainy days will decrease. Today, rainfall patterns are changing and farmers no longer know when to plant. At the beginning of 2009, one third of the population was food insecure. (Link to the report: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources\policy\climate_change\climate-change-poverty-haiti.html)

Last year, the country lost more than 15% of their GDP, the equivalent of US $229 million. This is a lot for a country where nearly 80% of the population has to survive on US $2 a day.

Oxfam has been working in Haiti on disaster risk reduction and disaster preparedness. In the North of Haiti for example, we are working with municipalities to reduce vulnerability to the impact of flooding. We are supporting the government in forming and training a municipal disaster risk management committee. People receive training and then go back to help others and raise awareness in their communities and villages. In other areas, Oxfam is working on community level building walls near rivers that regularly burst their banks.

What's next? Obviously, much more action needs to be taken in Haiti, including disaster risk reduction projects, reforestation initiatives, diversification of income sources among others. But all of these will remain meaningless if there is no fair agreement in Copenhagen.

Leaders need to commit to cut down emissions by 40% in 2020 and 80% in 2050, compared to 1990 levels, and money will be needed for adaptation -at least US $150 billion per year according to Oxfam.

It is not too late, we have to continue our support to any initiatives and efforts from the civil society, we need to send a clear message to our governments that we demand a fair agreement in Copenhagen, our future and the future of the next generations depend on it.