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Climate action “a matter of life and death”
Climate action “a matter of life and death” after February temperatures smash global records
Thursday, 3 March: The month of February has experienced a whopping temperature rise not seen before in the history of record-keeping, according to just-released global satellite data.
Greenpeace Executive Director Russel Norman says temperatures around the planet, including in New Zealand, have experienced such a spike that the world would be “crazy” not to act immediately.
“Based on the data that’s just been put out it’s pretty clear that February has obliterated our previous record-setting month. It’s completely unusual, even taking El Niño into consideration. Doing something about this right away is a matter of life and death. We can’t afford to muck around,” he says.
“Even the climate deniers, who ironically have used this very satellite data in the past to further their own agendas, have gone very quiet.”
Action here in New Zealand needs to start with calling it quits on any future oil exploration, says Norman.
But on the back of the Paris Climate Conference in January, Prime Minister John Key stated he had no intention of scaling back any search for fossil fuels.
“Key is doing less than bugger all when it comes to climate change. And this means we’re facing floods in our homes, and droughts on our farms. We need to make the call now that enough is enough,” says Norman.
“I think this will be the year of peaceful protest in New Zealand. We’ve seen it with the TPPA, and we’re going to see it with the oil industry. Next on the agenda is Greenpeace’s day of peaceful civil disobedience in three weeks at the annual petroleum conference at SkyCity.”
Last month, Greenpeace launched the campaign, pegged as an “an escalation of protest tactics”, and called on members of the public to take part in a co-ordinated demonstration of civil disobedience at the conference in Auckland on March 21.
“Everyone who is concerned about news like February’s overwhelming temperature record should come and join us at the oil conference. We need real climate action,” says Norman.
ENDS
Greenpeace
Greenpeace exists because this fragile earth deserves a voice.
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organisation that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace.
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