Friends of the Earth International
‘Save the Climate Treaty’ Action Day
Oct. 5
th
!
Today, as ministers
from around the world meet in The
Netherlands to prepare for the last
call Kyoto Protocol negotiations in
November, Friends of the Earth groups
are making a world-wide Action Day to
emphasize that this is the last call to
prevent a global climate
catastrophe.
Friends of the Earth
groups including Australia, Paraguay,
Scotland and The Netherlands are
involved in today’s international Save
The Climate Treaty Action Day.
Friends of the Earth
Italy have made a Scuba-Diver-Parade in
Venice, the beautiful city which rising
sea levels could send underwater. In
Piazza San Marco, a Amici della Terra
(FoE Italy) in flippers & goggles
have demonstrated through the main
square with banners indicating that
this could well be the required attire
for tourists in Venice within a few
decades.
Our Austrian Friends
of the Earth group flooded their
Environment Minister with sloganed
ballons as a stunt to draw attention to
what is actually an increasingly
serious issue – the unwillingness of
our governments to face up to global
warming and take effective action.
Presently, the
outlook for The Hague meetings is bad –
recent meetings in Lyon failed to make
any progress. The Dutch Minister for
Environment and Chair of the COP6
meetings admitted himself that ‘nothing
had been achieved in Lyon’.
Climate disasters
are already wrecking lives and local
economies around the world. Friends of
the Earth has published a new briefing,
available on-line
www.foeeurope.org/dike , detailing
extreme weather events which have
occurred just in the last three months.
The human, environmental and economic
cost of these disasters testifies to
the urgency which makes the Kyoto
Protocol discussions so important.
Dr. Martin Rocholl
from Friends of the Earth Europe:
"This Action Day is
essentially citizens from around the
globe asking their Governments to
ensure that the Kyoto Protocol results
in real and permanent emissions
reductions through the development of
renewable energy and energy efficiency
measures taken at home. The EU must
present a coherent and progressive
position – this is currently not the
case. The Treaty is being weakened
through creating loopholes and get-out
clauses in the Treaty. This is the last
hope for the only international
agreement which can reverse the effects
of global warming. Governments have got
to wake up. "
Friends of the
Earth, the world’s largest
environmental group with over one
million members, will also be at The
Hague. Our climate change experts will
be in the conference talking to
delegates and on November 18
th
we will build a huge dike
around the conference centre with
thousands of volunteers as a symbolic
action.
For more on the Dike
Action and background info on the
politics of climate change visit:
www.foeeurope.org/dike
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