21 September - citizens from all over the world stage events and demonstrations.
Join the global day of action on September 21st for a clean future. You’ll be starting on a journey towards one of the defining moments in history. Our greatest hope to tackle the challenge of global warming rests with us and our ability to demand greater action from world leaders. To change everything, it takes everyone -- let’s get started!
Click here to sign the petition or click here to find an event or march near to you!
Protecting the climate means also protecting our ocean!
Mundus maris contributes together with countless other organisations to the AVAAZ appeal. See the Mundus maris poster in five languages, print yours and send photos if you can partake in the big mobilisation. Together we can do it! EN FR SP DE IT
Rome, Italy
AVAAZ, WWF, Greenpeace, Lega Ambiente, Mundus maris and others had called citizens to meet at the Colosseum at 16h for a bike ride through the centre.
Climate change is a long-term process, so it is not yet felt by everybody in their daily lives, or is it?
The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates some 45 million persons as suffering forced displacement from their homes in 2012, an all-time high. This includes international refugees and internally displaced people. The causes are most violent conflict, persecution, general violence and various human rights abuses.
These in turn are at least partially caused by climate change and various environmental calamities. The current estimate of these people, sometimes labelled as "climate refugees" or "environmental refugees" is in the order of 25 million. The alarming predictions by the UN, charities and some environmentalists, that between 200 million and 1 billion people could flood across international borders to escape the impacts of climate change in the next 40 years are realistic. But case studies in countries such as Bolivia and Senegal indicate that most people suffering from environmental degradation may move inside national borders, not automatically go abroad. But the extent of suffering is huge already and one of the reasons, why we better get active now than wait for worse to come.
In splendid weather the bikers and pedestrians gathered at the Colosseum attracting interest and also support from tourists and bystanders.
The friendly and almost joyful atmosphere contrasted somewhat with the seriousness of the challenge that led to the gathering.
However, everybody was inspired by the sense that together we could do something and tell the politicians to listen to their citizens and make decisive progress at the forthcoming rounds of climate negotiations.
At European level, one of the summits under the rotating Italian presidency of the European Union will address the European position at the global climate talks, So we need to gather additional steam to get Europe back into a leading rather than a laggard position on halting climate change!
Several co-organisers and political figures addressed the crowd at the final meeting on Fori Imperiali exhorting everybody to take strength from achievements so far for the necessary efforts over the coming months and years.
And the good news are that lots of new employment is being created in the green economy of renewable energies, conservation agriculture, new services compatible with safeguarding our environment, social standards and opportunities for all.
It may be audacious to think that stopping the subsidies currently flowing into the pockets of fossil fuel and other outmoded industries of more than 1 trillion Euro. But reallocating those resources to climate proof economic and social activities, particularly renewable energies, would actually be the surest way to keep temperature increase at the famous 2 degrees considered "safe" or at least manageable. A business as usual scenario right now makes a 4 to 6 degrees increase likely. And nobody knows what a world with such temperature regime would look like.
The representative of AVAAZ handed over the more than two million signatures so far appealing to politicians to agree on effective measures to stop run-away climate change to Ermete Realacci, Italian MP and President of the Parliamentary Commission on the Environment, the Territory and Public Works that has just presented a landmark study on the current situation in Italy. The greatest hope is for the green and climate-proof economy to displace the climate killers - more than 300,000 new jobs are already estimated to show the way to the future.
Photos by C.E. Nauen.
Galapagos, Ecuador
Friends of the Isabela Oceanographic Institute on the Isabela Island, part of the Galapagos Archipelago in Ecuador are sending this picture.
Great to know that the call for climate mobilisation has reached to the Pacific and is being acted upon.
Indeed, Ecuadorians and their many foreign visitors have all the interest in the world to stabilise the climate or suffer the dire consequences.
Making these voices heard in the global concert is a source of great comfort.
Photo by Sarah K. Meltzoff.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
The AVAAZ appeal amplified by local NGOs and civic organisations, including Mundus maris, was heard and acted upon also in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina.
Argentina is a huge country with varying climatic and weather conditions in different parts.
But like glaciers in other parts of the world, Argentinian glaciers in Los Glaciares National Park, Patagonia, are melting.
The country certainly has a good potential for creating "green jobs", but - as everywhere - rethinking "conventional" approaches to agriculture and mobility is a big effort. From there to actually doing it, it takes a lot more pioneering efforts.
Climate change impacts in Argentina - this is what the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 4th Assessment Report has summarised:- Highly unusual extreme weather events were reported, such as flooding in the Argentine Pampas (2000-2002) and hail storm in the Great Buenos Aires area (2006) [TS4.2].
- Increases in rainfall in southeast the Argentine Pampas have had impacts on land use, crop yields and have increased flood frequency and intensity [TS4.2].
- Declining trend in precipitation has been observed in southwest Argentina [TS4.2].
- In the future, sea level rise, weather and climatic variability and extremes modified by global warming are very likely to have impacts on low-lying areas (e.g. province of Buenos Aires coast) [13.4.4].
- In recent decades, a trend to wetter conditions in parts of southern South America has increased the area inundated by floods, but also has improved crop yields in the Pampas Region of Argentina, and has provided new commercial fishing opportunities [3.5].
An invitation to pull up the sleeves and develop alternatives.
Photos by Marcelo Lino Morales Yokobori.
Climate march with the heart in front of the cathedral in Cologne
Citizens gathered in Cologne to demonstrate their love for renewables in front of the famous cathedral. As the symbolic colour of sustainability is green, many demonstrators had posters or dresses flagging green as their preferred way to run the economy, especially the energy economy.
They protested against continued subsidies and special permits for the world-wide dirtiest fossil fuel production and use in Garzweiler I and II, nearby. This open cast mine of lignite run by RWE is a shame for the entire country. Not only does it transform vast areas of the entire countryside for ever, it obliges people to move entire villages, changes the water balance and the climate. The net energy gain is minimal compared to the damage. Hanging on to it is over and over "justified" by maintaining jobs and improving energy supply in Germany.
But the fact of the matter is that there is oversupply of energy. Energy intensive bauxit (aluminium) smelters e.g. have had their energy bills slashed by 1% over the last years, while citizens pay 38% more on average. If the same amount of state aid had been invested in economic activities fit for the future, more jobs would have been created without the constant fear of loosing the rear-guard battle and having to give in to the evidence. Time to stop throwing good money after bad.
Mundus maris was there, one member holding up the Mundus maris poster during the march.
The event excelled through some special effects. At one point, participants formed a human heart and sang protest songs creating a unique festive and hopeful atmosphere. Watch the video of this magic moment. Let elected governments finally listen to their citizens and act to protect our climate in Cologne, in Germany and around the world!
Düsseldorf, Germany
The Action Day for the Climate in Düsseldorf, Germany, was organised from 13 to 15h on the centrally situated Schadow square.
Rather than a march, it was a gathering and networking event with different speakers and activities to count the city into the globally distributed efforts to encourage leaders at the extra-ordinary climate summit in New York, to show more courage than in past occasions and listen to citizens who want decisive action.
North-Rhine Westfalia with its heritage of now abandoned coal mines and heavy industry has a contemporary climate debt of huge proportions by allowing energy company RWE to extract lignite in huge areas between Düsseldorf and Aachen.
These open cast mines not only transform the landscape for ever, oblige many towns and villages to move in a wholesale manner and change the water balance, but are amongst the biggest fossil fuel polluters by any standard. Click here for visual evidence.
Prof. Dr. Gößling was the principal guest speaker. Accompanied by music kids of all ages could colour a green house (see to the very left of the photo) and there were plenty of other activities in store.
While the tone of several posters and banners was frightful and spoke of the serious concerns about the effects of climate change, there is ample room for being more optimistic and build on the encouraging results of early adopters of climate proof economic activities. The key message is: Together we can do it!
Photos by Livia Bottoni.