Independent reporting on Paris Climate Conference

I am the editor of one of Europe's most influential non-profit environmental and human rights news wires at http://bellona.org/ with offices based in Oslo, Norway, Brussels Belgium, St Petersburg and Murmansk, Russia, and Washington DC and New Orleans, in the US.

I am currently seeking funding to cover my stay in Paris for the critical UN climate summit between Nov 30 and Dec 11 so that I can continue our web site's legacy of offering the most comprehensive, independent reporting on climate change at this gathering that many see as humanity''s last opportunity to find a cooperative political solution to stemming the impact of global warming. As large a media event as this will be, it is critical that eyes, ear and curiosity outside traditional sources produce news and features on the events as they unfold, in collaboration with Bellona's scientists and policy experts.

Recent economic downturns in Norway, however, have cut away the funding base required to have me on the ground in Paris to bring necessary alternative points of view on the climate negotiations that would have an impact on how negotiators approach their daunting task. I am therefore seeking the assistance of contributions both large and small from those in the world who demand accountability from those who will assemble in Paris to decide our common future -- and that is my single job for my readers: To report accurately on the progress of the talks and to demand responsible action from our representatives that will benefit the many, as opposed to the few.

For more than 20 year, bellona.org and its associated websites in Russian and Norwegian have dedicated themselves to journalism whose investigations have led to:

-- Changes in EU and international climate legislation, and the adoption of policies encouraging cutting edge technologies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions;

-- The unearthing of the depth of BPs intimidation tactics against residents of the Gulf of Mexico, and exposing an every-widening health crisis among Gulf residents as a result of 2010's Deepwater Horizon spill, and marshaling support for 170,000 plus victims of toxicity related illnesses and disease;

--Monitoring the safety practices of the petroleum industry worldwide, particularly in the United States, Norway and Russia;

-- Freedom for political prisoners in Russia, and continuing exposure of the Kremlin's iron-fisted crushing of the country's civil society and democratic development;

-- The dismantlement of military submarines in Russia's nuclear fleet, thus eliminating one of the Post-Cold War's biggest threats of mass destruction and nuclear accidents;

-- Revelations of massive corruption and environmental devastation in Russia's most recent Olympic Games;

--Cataloged the continuing dangers of Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear disasters through continual onsite reporting;

--The mobilization of world wide environmental officials and NGOs against oil exploration in the Arctic;

--The exposure of the sheer amount of radioactive waste and spend nuclear fuel -- and in some cases entire nuclear vessels -- dumped at sea by the former Soviet Navy, and the coordination of efforts between Norway, other countries and Russia to asses these risks, and;

--An overall commitment to overhauls in industry, transport and power production that would lead to a zero emissions world, giving those who come after a chance at quality survival.

It is only with your help that I can continue these efforts in the context of the Paris Climate Summit. Our survival as a planet depends on investigative, solution oriented, scientific reporting on what world leaders bring with them to Paris. And such reporting is the hallmark of www.bellona.org.

Thanks in advance for your help. Your generous support will not go unacknowledged and you will not be disappointed with the results.

Gratefully,

Charles Digges, Editor, Bellona Web, Bellona.org