Special Report: Fight against Global
Warming
By Gao Li Liu Yu
BALI, Indonesia, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- A flotilla of
fishing boats greeted the Greenpeace flagship, SV Rainbow Warrior, as she sailed
in to Benoa port in Bali Friday.
The fishing boats carried banners saying "Save Our
Seas - Save Our Corals" and "Climate Action Now", urging government
representatives at the ongoing U.N. Climate Change Conference to step up the
fight against dangerous climate change.
The flotilla is calling on people all over the world
to take part in Saturday's Global Day of Action on climate change, which will
see tens of thousands of people around the globe taking to the streets in a
global call for action on climate change.
The Rainbow Warrior's crew, and Greenpeace volunteers
and delegations will join the Indonesian Civil Society Organization's Bali
parade.
"We are calling upon citizens across the world to
demonstrate the groundswell of global opinion demanding urgent action on climate
change," said Captain Mike Fincken of the Rainbow Warrior.
Greenpeace said countries suffering first and most
are those with least capacity to adapt and the least historical responsibility
for causing climate change. Global average temperature rise must be kept as far
below 2 degrees centigrade as possible to avoid the worst impacts of climate
change.
"The fishermen of Bali are already suffering the
consequences of climate change. Our corals are dying, which will affect our
fishing, and we fear the affects of sea level rise on our communities. We demand
concrete action plans, including steps to rehabilitate our community," said
Wayan Tudjana, spokesperson of the fishing community.
Indonesia has lost 2,000 islands so far because of
the rise in sea level, according to Indonesian Fisheries and Marine Affairs
Minister Freddy Numberi.
The Rainbow Warrior is in Indonesia to demand urgent
action on climate change while a U.N. climate change conference is going on in
Bali, a resort island of the country.
The two-week conference is tasked with setting up a
roadmap for negotiations on a new climate deal before the current phase of the
Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
Greenpeace is a global campaigning organization that
acts to change attitudes and behavior, to protect and conserve the environment
and to promote peace. It is present in 40 countries across Europe, the Americas,
Asia and the Pacific.