12
November 2008 - Konin, Poland — We have
set up a Climate Rescue Station on the edge
of a vast open pit coal mine in Konin, Poland.
The Rescue Station is a four storey tall
planet earth and will be used as a platform
to tell the world that we can save the climate,
but only if we quit coal, the most polluting
of all fossil fuels.
The Station will remain
in Poland for five weeks in the run up to,
and during, the United Nation’s Climate
Change Conference taking place in Poznan
between 1st - 14th of December.
Representatives from
15 different countries will be staying at
the station to tell the story of how coal
is affecting the entire planet. Coal is
the single greatest threat to our climate
and we are highlighting this by hosting
a variety of high profile events and protests
in and around the Climate Rescue Station.
The earth dome – using electricty generated
from clean renewable energy - is a visual
representation of the climate tipping point
that the earth is currently perched on –
showing the dark future ahead of us if we
don’t get serious and quit coal now.
Greenpeace volunteers
and activists worked constantly over several
days to build the dome. This is one of a
kind - and certainly the most impressive
rescue station we have ever set up.
Quit Coal - Save the
Climate
The Climate Rescue Station is part of our
global Quit Coal campaign which has featured
actions and events this year in Oceania,
South East Asia, Europe and the Mediterranean
- led by our flagship the Rainbow Warrior.
She is currently on an expedition in Europe
that is urging governments and energy companies
such as German owned E.ON - to give coal
the boot.
Poland depends on coal
for 93 percent of its power, yet it will
play host to the international climate talks
next month. Poland should set an example
to the rest of the world beginning a coal
phase out and switching to clean energy
sources while implementing energy efficieny
measures. Unless all governments make concrete
plans to shift to clean energy instead of
increasing their reliance on coal - we will
face catastrophic climate change.
On December 8th, the
Climate Rescue Station will be moved to
Poznan Wolnosci square, where it will continue
to send a message to delegates attending
the climate talks to get serious about climate
change, quit coal and work towards a meaningful
deal to save the climate.
Our message to delegates
in Poznan will be simple – in order to save
the climate – the world has to quit coal.
And we can do it. Technically accessible
renewable energy is capable of providing
six times the energy the world currently
consumes.
Get serious - start
an energy [r]evolution
Our Energy [R]evolution report shows how
renewable energy, combined with greater
energy efficiency, can cut global CO2 emissions
by over 50 percent while delivering half
the world's energy needs by 2050.
Climate change is widely
recognised as one of mankind’s greatest
challenges in the 21st century. It is accelerating
faster than we previously thought and much
of it is caused by the continued and increasing
emissions of greenhouse gases from human
activities. The poles are melting, coral
reefs are dying and millions of people are
at risk from droughts, floods, sea level
rise and extreme weather events. The impacts
will intensify as global temperatures continue
to rise.
Climate change is threatening
life as we know it. There is simply no time
to lose. Unless we get serious and take
meaningful action now – climate change will
seriously harm economies, societies and
ecosystems all around the world.
While governments are
talking of saving the climate most are allowing
hundreds more coal-fired power stations
to be built that will dramatically increase
CO2 emissions. We can tackle climate change,
but only if we reduce our dependence on
fossil fuels, particularly coal.
+ More
Lignite mine expansion
stopped in Czech Republic
13 November 2008 - Horní
Jiretín, Czech Republic — Thirty
of our activists have shut down a giant
excavator in one of the largest lignite
mines in the Czech Republic. We're calling
on the Czech Republic to close this mine
by 2012, commit to progressively decreasing
their carbon emissions and to play a constructive
role in the creation of effective climate
policy.
Volunteers from eight
countries together with local people peacefully
stopped the 50-metre high excavator and
laid out a huge banner demanding an end
to climate and landscape devastation. Other
banners spelled out the fact that if the
world does not immediately begin to phase
out mines and coal-fired power plants the
United Nations climate talks taking place
in Poznan in December and Copenhagen next
year are destined to failure.
The Czech Republic and
Poland have attempted to torpedo new and
ambitious European climate legislation and
it is up to older EU members and particularly
the current French presidency to stand firmly
against the sabotage of EU climate legislation
by some new member states.
Lignite is for losers
Lignite, often referred
to as 'brown coal', is one of the most carbon
intensive fuels. The Czech Republic has
the world's second highest lignite production
per capita and fourth highest CO2 emission
per capita among all European states. If
the mine, where our action took place, is
enlarged - it is likely that Czech CO2 emissions
from lignite combustion will double this
century.
The landscape of Northern
Bohemia, once called "the Garden of
the Czechs", has been turned inside-out
by giant open-cast mines in the last 50
years. During the communist regime, more
than 80 towns and villages were destroyed
and their inhabitants forcefully resettled.
Enlargement of these
mines not only endangers the climate, but
would also have a detrimental impact on
local people. The entire town of Horní
Jiretín - home to two thousand inhabitants
and a precious baroque church - will totally
dissapear. Locals, with support from Greenpeace,
have successfully held on for the last four
years in the face of aggressive negotiation
efforts from the mining corporation - CSA.
Pending parliament act
Their hopes now lie
with the proposed Mining Act Amendment,
now pending in the Czech Parliament. The
proposed legislation will provide a clear
legal basis for the closure of all lignite
mines.
"My country is
coal-addicted and it is almost too late
to heal it," said Vladimír Burt,
deputy mayor of the town of Horní
Jiretín, who participated in the
protest. "Our national government promised
the people of Northern Bohemia that it would
start phasing out opencast mines 17 years
ago. Now it is time to fulfil this promise.
We strongly urge our parliament to adopt
new mining legislation that will effectively
protect our homes."
The action in the Czech
Republic is just one link in a global chain.
Our Quit Coal campaign - led by our flagship
the Rainbow Warrior - supported by an earth
shaped base station in Poland has been urging
governments and energy companies to quit
coal and save the climate in Oceania, South
East Asia, Europe and the Mediterranean.
And we're taking this message to the climate
negotiatons in Poznan, Poland this December.
