In the run-up to Copenhagen almost six thousand 38 Degrees members signed a petition to Gordon Brown. We told him to secure a binding agreement that ensures carbon cuts of 40% in wealthy nations by 2020 without offsetting.  We also asked him to protect the rights of the world’s poorest people by guaranteeing adequate funding to allow clean development and measures to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Today the Prime Minister is off to take part in the Copenhagen talks, so we decided yesterday that it was the perfect time to deliver our petition to Downing Street.  Last week we sent Climate Minister Ed Miliband off to the summit with our words ringing in his ears after his giant conference call with thousands of 38 Degrees members (listen to it here: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/live).  Today we wanted to give Gordon Brown the same message: that we want action.

Wrapped up against the winter weather, a delegation of 38 Degrees staff took our message right to Mr. Brown’s front door. 38 Degrees volunteer Katy presented the petition to a government representative under the stern eyes of the resident police officer.

Gordon Brown intends to be the first world leader to arrive in Copenhagen today.  Let’s hope that this is a sign of things to come.  In this crucial debate he must be the first to push for ambitious goals and first to commit his country to binding agreements.

38 Degrees members have just taken part in the UK’s first ever mass phone call with a government minister, with Ed Miliband, Minister for Energy and Climate Change. 1000s of us chose the questions together, and 38 Degrees members put them to Ed Miliband direct – sending a clear message that we want him to fight for a good deal at the climate talks in Copenhagen.

Next week, he’ll be sitting around the negotiating table with our words ringing in his ears.

You can hear a recording of the whole call here: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/live

Now we need to keep up the pressure. Callers found common ground with Ed Miliband on the urgent importance of tackling climate change and we recognised good progress in some important areas. But there were other areas where we wanted him to go further -  for example on the scale of emissions cuts needed by 2020, on phasing out dirty coal power stations, and on money to help developing countries tackle climate change.  During the Copenhagen summit we can work together as a rapid response team, to pile on the pressure for a fair, ambitious and binding deal at Copenhagen. Click here to get involved with our Copenhagen rapid response plans: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/copenhagen-swarm

No government minister has ever been part of a call like this before. It was a credit to the Minister that he was willing to engage, but it happened because by campaigning together we’ve got the government’s attention. Everyone who took part – the people who asked the questions, those who commented online and everyone who voted in our question poll were all part of it: it’s yet more proof that people power works.

Together, we asked Ed Miliband the kind of searching questions that made sure he understands that there are millions of people who want him to fight for a good deal at the talks. Obviously not everyone got to ask their question, but we made sure Mr Miliband left with a copy of every single suggested question to read later.

Thanks for being involved.

UPDATE: We’ve grouped together the 12 most common suggestions for question areas from the blog, facebook, and the registration form, and set up a poll to prioritise between these.  You can now help pick the questions here: http://38degrees.org.uk/page/s/PickQs4Miliband

This Saturday, we will have a direct line to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.  Ed Miliband will be on the phone answering our questions before he heads off to the summit at Copenhagen next week.

Hundreds of us have signed up with questions to put to Ed and I’ve been taking a look at the list.  So far questions range from the irreverent  –  ‘How much time have I got?’  –  to the deadly serious.  But what are the most important things we should be asking him?

Our phonecall with Ed is happening on the same day as The Wave, a massive march through London, organised by Stop Climate Chaos.  For many of us, SCC demands are the starting point for questions. These demands are:

(1)  That the UK government seeks to secure a fair deal at Copenhagen to limit global warming to 2 degrees C.

(2)   That the UK government commit to funds on top of existing aid commitments, to help poorer countries adapt to climate change.

(3)  That the UK end its reliance on dirty coal power.

Many of us will want to know where Ed stands on these aims.

For others who signed up with questions, different issues are just as pressing. How the UK is planning to put pressure on the US at Copenhagen is a question that is top of a lot of people’s lists, including my own.  We need to secure commitments from the world’s second biggest carbon emitter, but this isn’t an easy task.  Another key concern is renewable energy. Why aren’t we investing more money in this?  Finally, many of us want to know what Ed’s strategy is for helping the UK population meet their personal emission targets. Will he use the carrot, the stick, or both?

Tomorrow our online poll will open so that you can help us decide what the most important questions to ask Ed are.  In the meantime keep your thoughts and suggestions coming by signing up on our website, or joining the conversation on twitter and facebook.