"350 or we’re all sunk"

Auckland Saturday October 24 – Greenpeace New Zealand has welcomed the outpouring of support for the 350 International Day of Climate Action, and at the wreck of the Rainbow Warrior in Northland, has displayed a banner underwater reading "350 or we’re all sunk".

Executive Director of Greenpeace New Zealand, Bunny McDiarmid, who was one of the original crew from the Rainbow Warrior said "The Warrior was bombed because it opposed nuclear weapons and fought the fallacy that nuclear weapons would keep us all safe. Today our ticking time bomb is climate change and we need the collective and urgent action of governments to prevent disaster.

"The Warrior remains a symbol of hope and a fighting spirit that simply can't be sunk. On the 350 day of action, climate warriors will rise up all over the world as one voice demanding that global leaders deliver at Copenhagen," McDiarmid said.

"Over the next 24 hours, millions of people around the world will be coming together to stand up for a safe climate, attending over 4,000 simultaneous events in more than 170 countries” said Greenpeace climate campaigner Gareth Hughes, who’s speaking at the 350 event in Wellington.

"350 parts per million (ppm) is the maximum amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that scientists say is safe. We're currently at around 389ppm and rising by about 2ppm per year.

"Over 140,000 Kiwis have Signed On to support John Key doing the right thing and signing on to a 40% emission reduction target at the Copenhagen climate summit and a large number of these people will be at one of the 130 events planned today in New Zealand.

"The Government’s current conditional 10-20% by 2020 target for Copenhagen doesn’t set us on a path to 350ppm and a safe future; the only way we can avoid catastrophic climate change is a 40% target.

"John Key needs to take note of the message from the divers at this historic and iconic New Zealand location and work towards a pathway to reducing emissions to 350 or we’re all sunk. That starts by setting a strong 2020 target at Copenhagen."

ENDS

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