Coalition's committed to change; In six weeks, world leaders will gather in Copenhagen to forge a binding climate change deal and Birmingham campaigners are awaiting their decision. The Mail's Environment Correspondent, PATRICE JOHN, spoke to four organisations to find out their hopes.

Byline: PATRICE JOHN

WHAT do Christian Aid, Oxfam, Birmingham Friends of the Earth and RSPB have in common? Well, until recently, some would argue, very little.

But matters of international impact tend to create the strangest of allies.

And this time it is the S

The Birmingham branches of these organisations have created the Stop Climate Change coalition which is pushing for a good deal at Copenhagen.

(against 1990 levels) and for $150 billion to be set aside for climate change adaptation in developing countries.

The coalition is also made up of Greenpeace, The Women's Institute, WWF-UK, Tearfund and People and Planet but here are some of the reasons why the organisations chose to get involved...

City has moral responsibility OXFAM - RICHARD FERN THE Birmingham campaigner says: "We came together because we all felt there needed to be a fair and safe deal that came out of Copenhagen.

"Oxfam is not a 'green' organisation. For us, this is a human rights issue.

"People are being denied the right to a livelihood, the right to safety and in some cases, the right to life itself, because of the threat of climate change.

"All over the world, Oxfam is seeing harvests failing and floods rising and as a result thousands of people are being displaced.

"A report by the United Nations states that in 2008, 20 million people were displaced due to climate-related disasters.

"Our research shows more than 375 million people will be affected by climate-related disasters by 2015 so when we look at these numbers, we know we have to do something."

Richard believes that as a city, Birmingham has an obligation to do something about climate change and its impact on the world in general.

"The science about climate change is clear," he says, "and the UK will not escape the impact of it.

"The Industrial Revolution began in the West Midlands and we could not have foreseen at that time what the results of that would be in terms of carbon dioxide emissions.

"Because of that, we have a moral responsibility to do something about it now."

Reduce rather than off-set BIRMINGHAM FRIENDS OF THE EARTH - JOE PEACOCK JOE says: "The talks in Copenhagen are possibly the most important summit we have had on this issue, on a global stage.

"We need everyone in the West Midlands to know about that and to be aware of what is going on.

"As different organisations, we decided to combine our efforts with other groups that feel the same way and we believe it's beneficial to be a part of one movement going in one direction."

Joe believes carbon off-setting should not form part of the deal in Copenhagen as the world desperately needs to reduce its emissions, not off-set them.

"Off-setting is definitely not the way forward," he says.

"We actually want them to make real cuts and if this is going to be a fair deal for everyone, it can't involve richer nations off-setting their emissions and leaving poorer nations to suffer the impact.

"A fair deal in Copenhagen would be one that is free from 'green washing' and it would be good to come up with a model that allows developing countries to progress without harming the environment like richer countries have.

"We are a local group that campaigns on local issues but climate change is going to impact everyone especially in terms of the changing weather patterns.

"We saw the tornado that ripped through Balsall Heath a few years ago and if freak events like that keep happening in other countries we could see millions of climate change refugees pouring into this country, because their homelands have become uninhabitable."

Mother Nature's out of sync ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS - LOUISE PEDERSON LOUISE says: "Climate change has a huge impacts for wildlife and we're witnessing those changes already.

"We can tell the planet is warming up and, as a result, flowers are blooming earlier than they used to and there are different kinds of birds beginning to nest earlier as well.

"Warmer winters and earlier springs all point to the planet heating up, which can cause problems for the natural world. At present, some species are in danger of falling out of sync with nature because of this - take the blue tit, for example.

"Chicks need at least 100 caterpillars a day, which are fed to them by their mother, but if they come out of nesting too early (because of the warm weather) and there aren't enough caterpillars, they tend to starve.

"We've seen evidence of this happening and it's because of the changing weather patterns and seasons. "This is a real way that climate change is having an impact and we know that it has to change.

"We would like Copenhagen to bring about binding targets for countries and to make sure that they are made responsible for their actions. We also want the targets that are set to be in line with the science on climate change."

Poor nations need tech help CHRISTIAN AID - GEMMA HOLDING GEMMA says: "Christian Aid is really concerned about carbon dioxide emissions because we believe they're already altering the world's climate and it is the world's poor that are really feeling it.

"As an international development organisation, our concern is with how changes in the planet will impact the world's poor.

"We decided to get involved in Stop Climate Chaos because we felt it was very important for our voices to be heard about such an important matter.

"We are campaigning for a number of things including the sharing of technology between countries so that poorer nations can cut their carbon dioxide emissions.

''They will also need help with climate change adaptations, which richer nations should pay for. But the talks are about making sure that justice is done.

''The poorest people in the world contribute the least carbon dioxide emissions and it's a matter of social conscience that we want to do something about this.

''Nations are more aware of what is happening in the world and have developed a social conscience which is key to what is going on."

THE FACTS * The Stop Climate Chaos *coalition is the UK's largest group of people dedicated to action on climate change and limiting its impact on the world's poorest communities.

The group is made up *of 11 million people from 100 organisations with causes as diverse as environment and development charities to unions, faith, community and women's groups.

The elected board *includes Friends of the Earth, Oxfam, Greenpeace, The Women's Institute, WWF-UK, Christian Aid, Tearfund, People and Planet and RSPB who are demanding action on global warming.

They also want *politicians to deliver a fair, binding and ambitious deal to tackle climate change in Copenhagen by slashing emissions by 2020 and by funding low-carbon development.

Their next major event *will be The Wave demonstration on Saturday December 5, in London.

See www.*stopclimatechaos.org/ we-are for details.

CAPTION(S):

Human rights issue: Richard Fern of Oxfam. Crucial talks: Joe Peacock from Birmingham Friends of The Earth. Weather problems: Louise Pedersen, from the RSPB. Technology call: Gemma Holding says poor nations need assistance.