Dunedin joins in global HANDS ACROSS THE SAND event for a clean energy future

Dunedin people will join hands at St Clair Beach on Sunday 17 MAY 11:30am as part of a global event against fossil fuel expansion and in support of clean energy.

‘Hands Across the Sand’ began in the US 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 this weekend are being held in Auckland, Taranaki, Wellington, Nelson, Kaikoura, Christchurch and Invercargill.

“We’ll be joining hands in Dunedin as a symbolic barrier against deep sea drilling off our coast” said Oil Free Otago spokesperson Rosemary Penwarden. “It’s a way to say ‘No’ to more fossil fuel expansion and ‘Yes’ to clean energy for our region.”

“People standing together in solidarity to end our dependence on dirty fossil fuels is a powerful image” said Ms Penwarden “We want our government to see that New Zealanders want a clean and sustainable low carbon future.”

The 2013 Hands across the Sand event saw six hundred people join hands the length of Kaikoura beach, with dozens more on surfboards and small boats, in opposition to deep sea drilling off the Kaikoura coast.

This year’s event comes as the government hastily runs public meetings throughout the country to seek New Zealanders’ views on our post-2020 climate change contribution, or 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 under the UNFCCC. Dunedin’s public consultation meeting will be 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?” Ms Penwarden said. “Our government has no plan. Now is the time to tell them that we need a concrete plan to switch away from fossil fuels.”

“Hands Across the Sand is about holding a strong stance and sending a united message that we need to seriously move away from climate-destroying fossil fuels and call for a better, sustainable future based on clean energy.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media