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| UNEP launches train journey to raise awareness on Climate Change
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Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) -
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in conj
unction with the International Union of Railways (UIC)and the global conservatio
n
organization WWF, Friday launched the symbolic one-month and nearly 9,000-kilom
e
tre-long train journey from Kyoto to Copenhagen to document the impacts of clima
t
e change and raise awareness of low-carbon transport solutions.
The project, according to a statement from the UNEP, is done in partnership with
the Seal the Deal! campaign led by the United Nations to galvanize political wi
l
l and public support for reaching a comprehensive global climate agreement at th
e
UN climate change conference (COP 15) in Copenhagen, Denmark,in December.
In the project, train operators from around the world will participate in the Tr
ain-to-Copenhagen campaign, with the aim of raising awareness of transport's inf
l
uence on climate change.
The transport sector is a major producer of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, alre
ady accounting for over one-fifth of global CO2 emissions. These emissions are p
r
ojected to double within just 40 years. Railways are crucial in reducing greenho
u
se gas emissions and in developing sustainable transport systems.
The campaign will kick off on 5 November with the UIC Climate Change and Rail Se
minar in the Japanese city of Kyoto - the birthplace of the current Climate Chan
g
e Protocol, the current commitment period of which is due to end in 2012. The me
s
sage for COP15 participants will be carried to Copenhagen through a symbolic rai
l
journey from Kyoto to Copenhagen.
During the train journey through Russia, environmental experts and climate chang
e campaigners will send eye-witness accounts of global warming signs underway.
Siberia is a global climate change "hotspot", where thawing permafrost and melti
ng peat bogs could slowly release billions of tons of methane and carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere over the coming years.
On 5 December in Brussels, the Climate Express will take on board more than 400
climate change negotiators, campaigners and other high-profile personalities goi
n
g to Copenhagen to participate in COP 15, for a 12-hour on-track conference focu
s
ing on how the world can solve the challenges posed by the transport sector with
regard to global warming.
On arrival in Copenhagen, the Climate Express, which will be powered by 100% ren
ewable energy, will remain at Copenhagen Central Station throughout the two-week
conference, serving as a mobile exhibition open to the public about low-carbon t
r
ansport solutions.
"The Train to Copenhagen team has one goal: bringing people to Copenhagen and br
inging COP15 to the people. Taking the train is part of the solution in combatin
g
global warming. Trains are the most environmentally friendly mode of transport,
so why would you travel by any other means to the one event in 2009 that can mak
e
a difference to the planet's future," explained Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, Director
General of UIC.
UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner agreed, pointing out that the world would
not be able to effectively combat the challenges posed by climate change if exi
s
ting policies and economic models prevail with their over emphasis on private ca
r
s and on shifting shipments of goods to the roads.
â?The Train to Copenhagen project is (therefore)a showcase of sustainable trans
port solutions that will be part and parcel of a resource-efficient, low-carbon
G
reen Economy of the 21st Century. By Sealing the Deal on an ambitious climate ag
r
eement in Copenhagen, governments will get into gear to propel the world to a lo
w
-carbon future so that societies may also finally embark on a journey to more su
s
tainable transport," he observed.
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| Nairobi - 25/09/2009 |
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