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HELP BUILD A LIFEBOAT!

Rescue the Kyoto Protocol

Climate change is not an abstract and complex problem to be discussed by politicians and scientists at leisure. Our climate is changing now, and people and the environment all over the world are going to be affected by the rising sea levels, changing environments and extreme weather events that are to come.

However, international climate policy is in danger of becoming a farce. Last year, the climate negotiations in The Hague collapsed because politicians did not come to an agreement. The negotiation process will continue in Bonn, Germany at the COP6bis World Climate Conference from 16-27 July.

The situation now is even more critical: the US has announced that it will neither ratify the Kyoto Protocol nor adhere to its contents. Other countries are still trying to get away with weak reduction targets or flexible mechanisms to avoid taking serious action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Climate Summit in Bonn could be a disaster if countries are allowed to water down the Kyoto Protocol or, even more dangerously, the US succeeds in sinking the treaty altogether. The life of the Kyoto Protocol is in danger!

Don't Sink the Protocol!
To create pressure on the negotiators, Friends of the Earth is organizing a spectacular stunt called ”The Lifeboat” in Bonn. Our message is that people all over the world are concerned about climate change and expect their governments to take real action reduce greenhouse gas emissions: thus, DON'T SINK THE PROTOCOL!

On July 21, thousands of people from all over Europe will gather in Bonn to construct a huge Lifeboat decorated with their messages to the climate conference. People will be dressed in blue to give the impression of a “sea of people” around the boat. They will bring individual messages, written on wooden planks, out of which they will construct the Lifeboat's hull. The Lifeboat will be brought to the venue of the World Climate Talks and installed there as a monument to the concerns and demands of citizens.

For more information, contact boat@foeeurope.org or visit www.foeeurope.org/lifeboat

Even if you cannot make it to Bonn, your message can! Send us your message via our web site or by post – on paper, cloth or even on a small piece of wood! Your message will then be used to construct and decorate the Lifeboat.