Oxfam at the London Aquarium, Ian Sullivan reflects
Posted on 04. Sep, 2009 by annied in Oxfam, climate change
Friday is fish and chips day in green.tv’s technology suite. From about 14.00 onwards the room smells of deep fried goodness. Last week the following post went up on Oxfam’s blog: “Fish, chips, and climate change” by Ian Sullivan. He’s been gracious enough to let us republish it on our blog this week, for our own fish and chips Friday. Many of you may have missed it, already on your way to your long bank holiday. It was an original stunt and part of the TckTckTck campaign countdown to Copenhagen. Since we gave that other climate change campaign so much attention this week, we wanted to share the spotlight and remind you about the TckTckTck campaign, of which Oxfam is partnered with.
To mark the 100-day countdown to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference Oxfam has set up a unique underwater event.
Sitting in the Sea Life Aquarium on London’s South Bank at 10pm at night isn’t what I usually do with my evenings. And it’s not often that I get to watch people lifting a coffee table with a glass of wine, bowl of fruit and some lovely looking cakes into a tank of sharks, turtles and stingrays so a family can ‘eat’ their dinner in front of television underwater.
But there is a reason behind this, and it’s to do with the 100-day countdown to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.
TckTckTck: why Copenhagen matters
The event was organised to let the world’s media know that if our leaders don’t agree to a fair and safe climate change deal this December, then large parts of the world will be flooded and left completely uninhabitable.
The aquarium is on London’s South Bank, next to famous theatres, the London Eye and just across from Westminster. This is one of the cultural centres of the UK. But if a deal isn’t agreed to tackle climate change then this illustrious part of England will simply be washed away.
Back at the aquarium, after finally lowering the set down into the tank I stood on the outside looking in at your average front room – with turtles in it. Next came the “average family”, in their average clothes, with scuba masks and breathing gear. It was an amusing sight, particularly as the TV cameras and heavy-duty lights lined up to get the perfect shot that hopefully you will see on the news.
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The serious point behind all of this is that we need a fair and safe deal to be agreed in Copenhagen. One that cuts emissions by 40% by 2020 and sets aside $150 billion to help poor countries adapt to the effects of our carbon pollution.
On the cartoon posters of sharks throughout the aquarium that I looked at, one of the lines that struck me was: “Humans must be held accountable for their actions.”
I think that rings true in many ways. Hopefully it will ring true in Copenhagen. We’ve got 100 days left to make sure that our leaders hear this message.