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Brussels/Copenhagen, 2 November - Business attempts to undermine a strong and just global agreement  on climate change are being put under the spotlight in the countdown to United Nations negotiations in Copenhagen with a special award, jointly organised by Corporate Europe Observatory, Friends of the Earth International, Focus on the Global South, Attac and Spinwatch.

The Angry Mermaid Award - named after the iconic Copenhagen mermaid who is angry about the destruction being caused by climate change - will be decided by a public vote.

Candidates for the Angry Mermaid are corporations, major polluters and lobby groups which have been nominated because of their track record of lobbying to prevent effective action to tackle climate change, either by blocking positive solutions or promoting false solutions to tackling the problem.

A shortlist of candidates will be revealed online on Monday November 16 when voting opens. The winner of the Angry Mermaid will be announced at a ceremony in Copenhagen during the climate talks on December 15.

Nina Holland from Corporate Europe Observatory, one of the Angry Mermaid Award organisers, said: “Anyone monitoring the progress of negotiations on a global climate agreement will be aware of the incredible levels of destructive corporate lobbying going on, internationally, but also possibly even more forcefully at the regional and national level.

“The Angry Mermaid Award exposes some of the worst corporate culprits. Millions of people are calling for strong and just action against climate change. Now they can vote to expose the worst of the worst at angrymermaid.org”

Candidates have been sought from individuals and organisations working on climate change who were invited to put forward evidence of the lobbying activities of individual companies or industry groups. The shortlist will be selected by the award organisers on the basis of the evidence found.

For more information see www.angrymermaid.org

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