At the World Climate Conference in Paris this November, world leaders will hold discussions on limiting the increase in global temperatures to no more than 2° Celsius. However, this is simply too much for the coral reefs to bear. If global temperatures were to rise more than 1.5° Celsius, all warm-water coral reefs around the world would perish.
Hence, the German Marine Foundation (Deutsche Meeresstiftung) has organised the RENEW campaign, its largest campaign to date.
Spearheading the campaign is the crew on board the research vessel ALDEBARAN. Having set sail (figuratively, as it is a motorized ship) from Hamburg on October 3rd, they will dock at various cities and ports in Germany, France and Switzerland as they journey towards Paris for the UN Climate Change Conference, to be held on November 30th to December 11th.
Using the motto of “RENEW”, the German Marine Foundation is calling for more consistent use of renewable energy (as much as 100%), as well as active climate and marine protection. "Only through an immediate reduction of CO2 emissions can the dramatic consequences for the seas be at least reduced. The necessary technologies are already available in Germany. Short-term action must be replaced with long-term sustainable strategies and particularly low-cost solar energy as an option for a peaceful and global energy supply,” said climate researcher Professor Hartmut Grassl in German at the start of the tour.
At stopovers along the way, the team will hold discussions with politicians, scientists and journalists about climate change.
They will also spread the word to the public about the importance of healthy oceans, and to ask for personal effort to fight the urgent threat of climate change.
"It is only when we love and understand the sea that we will protect it," said Frank Schweikert, one of the founders and member of the board of the German Oceanographic Foundation, which is responsible for all marine initiatives in Germany. Therefore, in collaboration with local stakeholders, there would also be events taking place at an interdisciplinary dialogue on climate and marine protection in all ports to gain support for the German Oceanographic Foundation. Highlights of the tour will be an event in Strasbourg with the famous climatologist Mojib Latif and the visit of Prince Albert II of Monaco on board the ALDEBARAN in Paris.
In addition to a guided tour of the research vessel, anyone can follow the campaign online via social media, via its Facebook account and at the German Oceanographic Foundation website. You can also take part by taking a photo of yourself with the word ‘RENEW’ somewhere in the photo and linking it with the German Oceanographic Foundation (Deutsche Meeresstiftung) - in this way, anyone anywhere can connect with the RENEW tour.
During the tour, special screenings of the award-winning Thule Tuvalu (which illustrates the effects of climate change) and the play Aqua qua Dabra will be held. The schedule of the RENEW tour, including event dates, can be found at the
Climate Sail website .
Written by
Mares
Date
19th October 2015
Where
Paris, Francia
