Hands Across the Sand turned into Hands Across the Sea Wall in Dunedin

Sunday 17 May

Dunedin people joined hands along the St Clair Beach esplanade on Sunday, 17 May as part of a global event against fossil fuel expansion and in support of clean energy.

“Our Hands Across the Sand turned into “HANDS ACROSS THE SEA WALL” said Oil Free Otago spokesperson Rosemary Penwarden. “Only an hour out from low tide the sea was too high to stand on the beach without getting soaked. It was a fitting reminder of why we were there. More burning of fossil fuels will cause more sea level rise. We were there to say NO to more deep sea drilling and YES to a swift transition to clean energy, low carbon future.”

‘Hands Across the Sand’ began in 2010 as a response to the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster and has grown into an annual global event. Similar events in New Zealand were held this weekend in Auckland, Taranaki, Wellington, Nelson, Kaikoura, Christchurch and Invercargill.

“Ending our burning of fossil fuels will take time and effort, but we must start now" Ms Penwarden said. "The longer we wait the more difficult and costly it will get to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and ensure a liveable climate for our children and grandchildren.”

This year’s event comes as the government runs public meetings at short notice throughout the country to seek New Zealanders’ views on our post-2020 climate change target under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This target will be taken to Paris in December where countries will establish a new international climate change agreement. Dunedin’s public consultation meeting will be held at 6:30pm at the Kingsgate Hotel on Thursday 21 May. Submissions to the government end on 3 June.

“What is the point of setting a target if you have no plan to reach it?” added Ms Penwarden “Our government’s only plan is to keep digging up more climate-destroying fossil fuels. We joined hands today to demand real action on climate change from our government in Paris, not some flaky target that they do not intend to meet.”

Photograph attached: Around 80 people held hands across the sea wall in Dunedin, Sunday 17 May. Photo by Brian Wheeler

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