October, 21 2009, 01:19pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Big 5 for 350 Global Day of Climate Action
Aerial photograph led by 350 ambassador Bianca Jagger marks global day of climate action to spread most important number in the world on Saturday 24 October, Jubilee Gardens, London’s South Bank
WASHINGTON
Around the world on
October 24th people will be holding events focusing attention on the number 350
- what the scientists say is the safe upper limit for parts per million of C02
in the atmosphere. The 350 campaign will see people make a joint
statement to policy makers preparing for the Copenhagen summit, calling for a bold and
committed new deal that sets the world on a path to reaching the safe level of
350ppm.
The 350 day of
action, founded by author Bill McKibben, is the major international action
leading up to the UN Climate Talks in Copenhagen,
these actions peak with the Global Day of Action on Climate Change midway
through the talks on December 12th - see here.
Bianca Jagger, founder of the Bianca Jagger Human
Rights Foundation and champion for social and environmental justice, says "Tackling climate change is the overriding moral
imperative of our time. Time is of the essence; we are close to the point of no
return. 350ppm is the most important number on earth. We must reach it if we
are to avert catastrophic climate change."
Andrew Simms, Policy Director and Head of
the Climate Change Programme, nef (the
new economics foundation) says: "Like
the safe load-line on a boat, the global economy has an environmental water
line created by climate change. We're already crossing it, raising the
risk of sinking. But instead of lightening the load to get back to safe levels,
we're still piling more stuff on board. Our overconsumption is turning
the planet into one vast coffin ship. To travel safely, we must urgently return
to 350ppm carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere."
The main UK 350 event will take place on London's South Bank under the London
Eye. It will be linked with gatherings in other major cities including Sydney, Delhi, Copenhagen, Washington DC and Quito.
Each gathering will take place next to an iconic landmark, with the people
present forming one of the figures in the number 350 so that put together, the
aerial photos show a global message of 350 solidarity. London will be
forming a human '5' which when matched with the '3' and
'0' from other cities will highlight the need for concerted global
action to deal with a global problem.
Campaign against Climate
Change will be organising the Big 5 for 350 (www.350.org/big5) London
photo and will be joined on the day by Bianca Jagger. The Big 5 for 350 is
programmed as part of the new economics foundation's Bigger Picture
Festival of Interdependence on Saturday 24th October at the
Bargehouse on London's
Southbank.
When: 14h00 - 15h30,
Saturday 24 October 2009
Where: Jubilee
Gardens, South Bank, London (beside the London Eye, nearest tube Waterloo - see here for a map)
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