With under a fortnight to go until the start of the COP17 climate talks, the launch of Greenpeace’s new ship Rainbow Warrior III offers hope for real change, says UK Director John Sauven.
Speaking at the Open Day for the latest Rainbow Warrior – Greenpeace’s most iconic ship – Sauven said: “We know there are big problems, but we also know that we have solutions, we have the ability to change the way that we get our energy and how we use our energy which is really at the core of the problem of climate change.
“We also know that we can stop deforestation. We can grow food without deforestation. I think where the problems are solvable – which I think they are when it comes to climate change – there has to be hope, and I think the Rainbow Warrior is a symbol of that hope.”
Ahead of the UNFCCC Climate Summit, doubts over whether a deal can be made have been raised. With the Kyoto Protocol expiring in 2012, some countries have hailed Durban as the last chance for a new deal, while others have called for a replacement deal to be pushed back to 2015 or even 2020.
While understanding that the global process has had some knock backs in recent years – partiuclarly in the wake of Copehagen in 2009 – Sauven urges people do not give up on the global process.
He said: “Obviously we were disappointed after Copenhagen. A deal wasn’t reached that really would cut emissions and would keep temperature down below two degrees. And I think that there is a worry certainly that things are getting out of hand when it comes to emissions.
“But it is the only international agreement that we have.”