World leaders meet in Copenhagen in December to agree on a climate action plan to replace the Kyoto Protocol. Climate scientists tell us that this is probably the last chance mankind has to avert catastrophic climate change - do too little and the future will be characterised by floods, droughts, fires, mass human migrations, wars, desertification, and such like on an ever-increasing scale.
Politicians can be a fickle bunch, and so to encourage leaders of the world to take the necessary measures to reduce our carbon footprint people across the planet will be hitting the streets to voice and show their concerns. One of the hubs for this international event is 350.org
Why 350? 350.org says: "350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit
for carbon dioxide—measured in "Parts Per Million" in our atmosphere.
350 PPM—it's the number humanity needs to get back to as soon as
possible to avoid runaway climate change."
In Edinburgh, Holyrood 350 is planning to form a giant 350 human banner to call on world
leaders at the Copenhagen talks to deliver a strong global treaty
that will get us back to the safe upper limit for CO2 in
the Earth's atmosphere.
The event commences outside the City Chambers on High Street
at 12:45 (gather at 12:30) with a parade of drummers leading the procession down
the Royal Mile to form the human banner outside the Scottish
Parliament at 13:00. Among the actions the event ties up with around the globe is a parallel drumming event in Barcelona.
With the Climate Change Act, passed on 24 June 2009, the Scottish Government committed to cut emissions by 42% by 2020 and has a statutory target for reducing emissions by 80% by 2050.