11 October 2007 - Kolkata,
India — Today, Greenpeace India activists
scaled a 76 metre (250ft) smokestack spewing
carbon dioxide at the Kolaghat coal fired
power station, to paint the message "SMOKING
KILLS". No, we're not talking about
cigarettes - we're pointing the finger at
one of the biggest causes of climate change
- coal.
"The addiction to coal fired power
plants is a deadly one that the Indian government
needs to get away from immediately,"
said Soumyabrata Rahut, Climate Campaigner
Greenpeace India. "As in any addiction,
we will have to wean ourselves away from
the bad habit in a phased manner, but to
continue on a carbonized growth path will
be suicidal not only for the health of the
country but for the entire planet."
Currently 67 percent of India's total electricity
is from coal fired power plants, and additional
proposed plants will lead to the doubling
of CO2 emissions from the power sector in
India. This will push India in to the third
slot just behind USA and China from the
current fifth position in overall CO2 emissions.
Saving energy - the other side of the issue
Greenpeace India is not only tackling climate
change from the supply side, they're also
going after the demand side by calling for
a ban on energy wasting lightbulbs. Earlier
this week, they used floating life rings
create a massive 45 metre (150ft) ‘BAN THE
BULB’ message on the Hoogly river (also
in Kolkata), and over 200,000 people have
signed their ban the bulb petition.
Banning energy guzzling incandescent lightbulbs
would cut India's carbon dioxide emissions
by a whopping 55 million tones. It's a simple,
quick and doable step that can lead to a
four percent cut in India’s carbon dioxide
emissions.
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Rainbow Warrior on the way
The Rainbow Warrior is scheduled to arrive
on the 12th of October on its maiden voyage
to Kolkata and the Sunderbans, to highlight
the extreme vulnerability of this ecologically
sensitive region and to sea level rise.
Watch the Greenpeace India website for more
on the Rainbow Warrior's work there.
Update - 12 October - Six volunteers were
arrested yesterday, were denied bail and
remain in jail. They have been charged with
criminal trespass and violation of the West
Bengal Maintenance of Public Order Act of
1972.
The Rainbow Warrior arrived in Calcutta
today bearing the message "Arrest Climate
Change: Free the Climate 6."
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Indonesia: Forests and climate up in smoke
10 October 2007 - Sumatra, Indonesia —
Never has the threat to the world’s forests
been more acute nor the risk of dangerous
climate change so imminent. With about one-fifth
of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions
being caused by forest destruction we are
highlighting how Indonesia is at the heart
of this problem.
Indonesian forests are being destroyed
faster than any other major forested country,
for logging and oil palm plantations.
This destruction has obvious, immediate
consequences for the unique plants, animals
and people who call the Indonesian forests
home. These forests contain between 10 and
15 percent of all known species of plants,
mammals and birds that make up the world’s
treasure chest of biodiversity. Orangutans,
elephants, tigers, rhinoceros, more than
1,500 species of birds and thousands of
plant species are all part of the country’s
natural legacy. But many of these unique
forest-dwelling animals, including the orangutan
and the Sumatran tiger, are on the brink
of extinction.
While the loss of forests is bad enough,
there's a double blow for the environment
from forest clearance in Indonesia. Beneath
most of this forest are thick layers of
peat that lock up millions of tones of carbon.
Once the forest is cleared the peat swamp
is drained and often also burned to make
the soil more suitable for palm oil plantations.
Burning of the forest and peat results in
huge amounts of greenhouse gases making
Indonesia the world’s third largest climate
polluter.
Brazil is the fourth largest climate polluter,
with up to 75 percent of its emissions coming
from land conversion and deforestation mainly
in the Amazon.
More emissions than transport
Globally deforestation and forest fires
account for approximately 20 percent of
global greenhouse gas emissions. That's
more emissions than the world’s entire transport
sector. If global deforestation is left
unchecked it will continue to accelerate
the rate of global warming.
This urgent global problem needs a global
solution. We have launched a Forest Defenders
Camp on the boundary of forest clearing
in a region of Sumatra. In the coming weeks
we'll be highlighting scale of the destruction
and who's responsible. But also in Indonesia
lies the start of that global solution.
Indonesia will be hosting the next round
of international climate talks in December.
Governments from around the world will gather
in Bali to negotiate about extending the
Kyoto Protocol, the only international agreement
containing legally-binding limits on greenhouse
gas emissions.
We aim to ensure that deforestation is
included in the next phase of the Kyoto
agreement extending beyond 2012. The decisions
that governments make in the near future
are critical for securing the financing
and capacity needed by countries to safeguard
their tropical forests and to allow them
to make a serious contribution to global
efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Stabilising the world’s climate depends
on countries agreeing to deep cuts in greenhouse
gas emissions from the energy and industrial
sectors and completely halting deforestation.
And, above all, ensuring that this is firmly
written into the revised Kyoto Protocol.
