PROTESTS DURING THE COP 7 CLIMATE CONFERENCE IN MARRAKECH

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 11/09/2004 - 04:42

Following are reports of vociferous protests around the world
during the Marrakech meeting:

Australia
Korea

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

Last Friday, 9th November was a hectic day in Melbourne, with anti-war & WTO actions, forest banner drops off the Arts Centre Tower and the Federal Election looming. As part of a worldwide International Day of Action, Friends of the Earth Climate Justice campaigners nevertheless held three actions around the city to protest against Australia's embarrassing and obstructionist stance at the 7th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP7) in Marrakesh, Morocco.

7:30am Multiple banner drops at a traffic island in Swanston St,Carlton, next to the Carlton Cemetery. "Climate for Life, Not Profit", "One Person Per Car IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT " & "Ratify Kyoto NOW!" were some of the messages thousands of drivers were confronted with, as they waited at the traffic lights early Friday morning.Leaflets were also given out, and there were many car horns blaring & waves of support from people driving by.

12noon Bourke St Mall, Melbourne CBD. Flyers were handed out,banners stretched across the Post Office site, and again most people were more than happy to stop & chat about the issues, particularly with the election the next day.

1pm AGL Corporate HQ, Collins St, Melbourne. Wearing costumes mocking AGL's marketing campaign, a small group of Climate activists managed to sneak their way past reception & security. Leaflets were handed out to workers around the offices, and flyers were placed amongst the company's propaganda & inside all of their Corporate Profile/ Annual Report booklets.

There was a good response from workers inside the building, many of them making comments to the effect that they understood our reasons for being there as part of our ongoing campaign protesting the building of the Somerton gas-fired power generator, which is a highly inefficient & unsustainable project.

After we'd made our point, we went back downstairs (with a security escort) and continued handing out information to people on Collins St, including workers entering & leaving the building. As this was happening, there was a power blackout in the building, which ironically managed to highlight our point that AGL's project was not an appropriate way to prevent summer blackouts, and the State Government's failure to address demand management issues was exacerbating these problems, and a sign of things to come.

While Australian delegates were doing their best to water down the Kyoto Protocol and obstruct any real progress being made in Marrakesh, FoE Melbourne's Climate Justice Campaigners were successful in raising public awareness of these issues the day before the election. Following the huge increase in support of the Greens at the election, it's good to see many people are beginning to consider the issues about which we are campaigning.

Contact: Brad Gill 0400 805 281 Michelle Braunstein 0402 208 164

Climate Justice Campaign Friends of the Earth Melbourne (Australia) Phone: (03) 9419 8700 International: tel. +61 (3) 9419 8700; fax +61 (3) 9416 2081 Web: www.foe.org.au www.climatejustice.melb.net

 

KOREA

Korean climate activists built up the network for climate action last september. KEY(Korea Ecological Youth), Korea eco-center, Student environmental movement network and individual activists are involved in this action network (we call it Risingtide Korea or Korean climate activist network). Our aims of building this network are first of all to inform the essential of climate talk, which market based solution like carbon trading on climate change, to the other groups and people, to criticise the energy and climate policies of korea government.

We have been doing many activities since the starting day of cop7 in Korea. Since then We published climate internet news-letter 4 times, did information tour&debate in the several universities and on-line campaign. mainly student activist groups have done climate campaign in their universities during the period of cop7. It's quite organised.

On 3rd of November, we took action to interrupt the departure of industrial circles's representatives from Korea at the Inchon international airport. Large corporations in Korea, they intend to take the solution of climate change mainly through carbon trading and sink. We think the reason they participated cop7 were only to seek their profits and their loophole from coming reduction pressure. So the day, we brought big banner, some pickets and media to the airport. One of us pretend to student interviewed a guy from industrial circle and took video. And others were holding banner and pickets inside airport.

On 7th of November, Korean climate activist network took simultaneously one person rally in front of the five difference places such as ministry commerce, industrial and energy, branch of Shell Korea, American embassy, KCC and congress building which are making worse climate crisis among industrial circles and government. These industrial circles and government are far from making efforts to solve the climate change and also collaborate with global carbon business.

On 9th of November, It's last day of cop7. All Korean climate activists will gather and take action and march in seoul with anti-WTO demonstration. After that in the evening, we will make a wonderful festival in the street. It will be a great meeting with people. There will be singing, dancing, theater, speaking, displaying and distributing information on climate change during whole festival.

These whole activities of last two weeks will be continued by Korean climate activist network from now on. We know the result of climate talk are really bad and there is nothing better any more. But we will do as possible as we can.

PHOTOS

Action at the Inchon international airport in Korea

Action at the Inchon international airport in Korea

one person rally in front of the American embassy

one person rally in front of the Congress

one person rally in front of the KCC building

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