Contents

• Climate Action Network (CAN)
• CAN-Europe: The European node of CAN
• CAN-Europe's Funding
• Membership
• Board of Directors
• Team and Contacts
• Direct Link to CAN offices

Climate Action Network (CAN)

The Climate Action Network (CAN) is a worldwide network of over 365 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) working to promote government, private sector and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels. CAN is based on trust, openness and democracy.

The vision of CAN is a world striving actively towards and achieving the protection of the global climate in a manner that promotes equity and social justice between peoples, sustainable development of all communities, and protection of the global environment. CAN unites to work towards this vision.

CAN's mission is to support and empower civil society organisations to influence the design and development of an effective global strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ensure its implementation at international, national and local levels in the promotion of equity and sustainable development.

For the contact details of CAN members visit the CAN Directory.

- top of page -

CAN-Europe: The European node of CAN

Climate Action Network Europe (CAN-Europe) is a non-profit organisation operating as a coordination office since 1989 for environmental groups in Western Europe (European Union, Iceland, Norway, Switserland) working on climate change issues.

CAN-Europe provides a forum for NGOs to share ideas and expertise, strategies and information on climate change, promote actions and link these with wider efforts. CAN-Europe acts as a source of information for its members both on International and EU policy developments, through mailing lists, newsletter, website, events. CAN-Europe also ensures that NGO voices are heard in the wider policy arena by liaising with varied policy stakeholders and Institutions. CAN-Europe promotes and supports its members' actions by disseminating them more widely and helping to link them to the wider climate agenda.

One of CAN-Europe's main tasks is to facilitate co-ordination of members' climate related work while at the same time co-operating with the other CAN focal points in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia, Latin America, the USA, Canada, Australia and Central and Eastern Europe. CAN-Europe builds partnerships with industry and business, trade associations, local authorities and other sectors of society.

CAN-Europe monitors and encourages the implementation of policies and measures that combat climate change in the EU as well as working with national NGOs to do the same at the member state level. Work is done on all aspects of EU policies linked to climate change issues. This includes the European Climate Change Programme (ECCP), emissions trading in the EU, promotion of renewable energy, ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in the EU, liberalisation of the energy market, security of energy supply, green electricity and F-gases.

CAN-Europe follows closely the international negotiations on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was first given life at the Rio Summit in 1992 and led to the "Kyoto Protocol" which was agreed at the Third Conference of the Parties (COP3) in December 1997. CAN Europe members have been present at all official meetings. Since Kyoto, there have been eight more "COPs"; COP4 in Buenos Aires in 1998, COP5 in Bonn in 1999, COP6 in two sessions, the first in The Hague in November 2000, the second in Bonn in July 2001, COP7 in Marrakech, Nov 2001 and COP8 in New Delhi, India.

Further information on CAN-Europe's work.

- top of page -

CAN-Europe Funding

CAN-Europe is a non-profit organisation receiving funding in the present financial year from the European Commission, the Belgian Environment Ministry , the Oak Foundation and the Austrian Environment Minstry and the Finnish Environment Ministry.

CAN-Europe supports transparency and democracy in decision-making on all levels of society. For more information, see the Green 10 position paper on lobbying in the EU.

- top of page -

CAN-Europe Membership

CAN-Europe Membership is open to non-government/community based non-profit organisations, situated in Western Europe, which have an interest in the promotion of sustainable development and are active in, have a focus on, or interest in climate change issues. CAN members have administrative independence and pursue their own mandates, organizational aims and objectives. The applicant member has to declare that it will respect and apply the statutes, support for the vision, mission and activities of CAN-Europe. See CAN-E Statutes (English Translation of Statutes - pdf (update 2005). Please see also the CAN Charter - pdf, for Network rules and guiding principles for Network governance.

Today, CAN-Europe has 94 member organisations. The wider and better informed group we are, the stronger our voice! For the contact details of CAN members visit the CAN Directory.

• Membership types and list of members
• Membership Criteria
• Membership fees

If your organisation is interested in becoming a member please contact Karim Harris at tel: 00 32 2 229 52 25.

- top of page -

Board of Directors

CAN-Europe has a Board of Directors, which is appointed by its General Assembly. As of March 2005 - 2007, they are:

Bram Claeys – policy officer - energy, Bond Beter Leefmilieu

Mahi Sideridou – deputy director/head of climate and energy team, Greenpeace European Policy Office

Juergen Maier – director - environment and development, German NGO Forum

Raphaelle Gauthier – individual member representative, RAC France

Donald Pols – team leader - climate and energy, Milieudefensie

Klara Sutlovicova – policy officer - climate, Centre for Transport and Energy (Czech Republic)

Reinhold Pape – coordinator - climate and energy, Acid Rain Sweden

Stephan Singer – head of european climate and energy policy, WWF – EPO

- top of page -

Team and Contacts

CAN-Europe's Staff

Direct Links to CAN Offices:

CAN International (Secretariat)
CAN CEE (Central and Eastern Europe)
RAC-France (Western Europe)
CAN LA (Latin America)
US CAN (United States)
CAN Canada (Canada)
CANA (Australia)
CAN SA (South Asia)
CAN SEA (South East Asia)
RAC Maghreb (North Africa)
SARCAN (South Africa)
ENDA (West Africa)

- top of page -

About CAN-Europe

Disclaimer

Site Map