Bluepeace members joined thousands of demonstrators in the capital city of Denmark on December 12, calling on world leaders to agree on a meaningful treaty in the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP15). The first march of the day was organized by Friends of the Earth International and their event Flood for Climate Justice attracted thousands. Later in the day, an estimated 100,000 people marched to Bella Center in Copenhagen.
Outside the venue of Klimaforum09, the Peoples’ Climate Summit which is being held in parallel to the COP15, a young man named Koen from Brussels stood with his bicycle. Koen told Bluepeace about he and his friends’ journey in a go-cart from Belgium to Copenhagen.
From the coast of Belgium the group reached Lubeck in Germany. From there they made a boat journey to Malmö in Sweden, and travelled on land again to Copenhagen. Koen told us they were promoting zero carbon transport. They have a facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=176272729479
Koen said when they were going from town to town in the go-cart it drew the attention of the people who stopped by to strike a conversation. Koen and his friends are hoping for a new global treaty to be crafted in Copenhagen to reduce carbon emissions.
We could not talk for long because Koen was already uncomfortable from the cold winter of Copenhagen. It was a bit windy as well, and indeed coming from the equator, it was not a favourable weather for us either. It was wiser to go back inside, where the Klimaforum09 was attracting hundreds of people who were attending various events occurring simultaneously including debates, lectures and exhibitions. Vulnerable, the exhibition on climate change, organized by Bluepeace, is receiving a very warm welcome.
Klimaforum09 opened on 7 December. Guest speakers will include Bill McKibben of 350.org. Naomi Klein gave a speech during the opening ceremony and was a panelist on 10 December in a session on ecological debt and climate justice.
The photo exhibition Vulnerable, organized by Bluepeace, and showcasing photographs of talented Maldivian photographers, is being hosted by Klimaforum09, the Peoples’ Climate Summit. The exhibition shows the face of climate change in the Maldives and documents the vulnerability of the fragile coral islands of the Maldives to climate change and sea level rise. The exhibition depicts a nation under threat, as it tries to safeguard an age-old culture and lifestyle that could be erased with rising seas and climate change.
Klimaforum09, is an alternate climate summit being held at DGI-Byen, Copenhagen, and is dubbed as the People’s Climate Summit. Thousands of activists, NGO members and environmental justice movements are participating in the Klimaforum09, while in the Bella Center, the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (Cop15) is being held.
Bluepeace is excited by the prospect of attracting thousands of visitors to the exhibition Vulnerable. We believe that by having this exhibition featured at Klimaforum09, in the beautiful city of Copenhagen, in this significant moment in history, we are able to alert important stakeholders of the plight of vulnerable countries such as the Maldives to the impacts of climate change.
