Greenpeace joins millions in global protest on climate

Greenpeace activists in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg today placed banners on statues of famous South African leaders to urge President Jacob Zuma and other heads of state around the world to take leadership during the critical Climate Summit in Copenhagen this December. This call for active leadership is part of a global day of action, initiated by 350.org [1], involving millions of people in over 170 countries demanding a fair, ambitious and binding deal to prevent catastrophic climate change. 

In Johannesburg, activists draped the statue of former President Mandela at Nelson Mandela Square with the message Zuma Go to Copenhagen to ask the current South African president to personally go to Copenhagen and ensure a fair deal is made. Developed countries must create trust and demonstrate their leadership by both committing to deep emissions reductions domestically and providing a substantial amount of financing and technology for developing country mitigation and adaptation.   

“The planet cannot afford another delay, world leaders need to take personal responsibility for the success of the Copenhagen Climate summit and agree to a legally binding protocol that will shift economies towards low carbon development” said Agnes de Rooij, climate campaigner with Greenpeace, “Copenhagen is the marker of climate success or climate failure, not a marker on the way to more meetings about meetings”. 

In Pietermaritzburg, the Mahatma Gandhi statue carried a banner reading Join the Energy [R]evolution, which is Greenpeace’s blueprint for sustainable and equitable development, providing green jobs by investing in clean energy such as wind and solar and using energy in a smart and efficient way.  In Cape Town the statue of Cecil Rhodes reads ‘The Future is Solar’, symbolising that the real untapped wealth in South Africa lies in renewable energy rather than in minerals.  

South Africa is one of the only developing countries that has a long-term climate strategy that seeks a peak in emissions and a decline there after, which is what the latest science demands in order to avoid dangerous climate change. However their strategy is based on expensive, unproven and unsustainable technologies such as CO2 dumping (Carbon Capture and Storage or CCS) and nuclear energy and does not put any measures into place to stimulate a massive upscale in renewable energy and energy efficiency. 

“The call for strong African leadership in Copenhagen should be matched with a clear commitment at the domestic level, particularly for South Africa to end its reliance on coal”, says Michelle Ndiaye Ntab, Greenpeace Africa Executive Director.  “The South African government needs to clean up its act at home and put in place effective policies to make a just transition to a sustainable energy system for green job creation”.

A good deal in Copenhagen will include a commitment of industrialized countries of a minimum of US$140 billion a year to support these kind of mitigation tracks, forest protection and adaptation to climate change impacts in the developing world. 

On top of this Greenpeace is calling for:
Global emissions to peak by 2015 and decline rapidly thereafter reaching as close to zero as possible by mid-century.
Developed countries, as a group, to reduce emissions by at least 40% by 2020 (compared to 1990 levels). At least three quarters of these reductions must be achieved domestically.
Developing countries to reduce their projected emissions growth by 15-30% by 2020, with support from industrialised countries.

Greenpeace contacts:

Fiona Musana, Communications Director, Greenpeace Africa +27 79 512 9381
Agnes de Rooij, International climate campaigner +27 823160507
Tshepo Peele, Outreach Coordinator Greenpeace Africa +27 79 512 8594

For photos please contact Franca Michienzi: +31653819255
For video contact Fiona Musana