Klimaschutz Camp in Berlin
by Miko Alino, SG Pilipinas
More Reductions Please!
Rains and cold weather were no match against our high spirits as we demanded Bundestag members to wake up and take action against climate change. Greenpeace activists, including members form the 50-plus group, organized an event from May 8 to 10 to call on members of the Bundestag to support our target - by 2020, carbon emissions should be reduced by 40% - NO IFs, NO BUTs. The event, dubbed Klimaschutz Camp, was held near the Reichstag. SolarGen members engaged Bundestag members in healthy dialogues, urging them to support the reduction target.
Dining at the Beluga
The Beluga II was in the Spey River to help out in the campaign. It also served as our mess hall, as well as a place to relax in-between shifts. What is interesting about the ship is that it was built from scratch for Greenpeace. Other Greenpeace ships - the Arctic Sunrise, the Rainbow Warrior, and the Esperanza - were bought as second-hand and were re-fitted to accommodate state-of-the-art communication equipment.
'Age is not a Question'
Is age still a factor? What moved me during the engagement was the participation of people with grey hair and receding hairlines. The volunteers are part of Team 50-Plus, a group composed of people aged 50 years and above. Doris, one of the Team 50-Plus members, told me that they are not too old to do their part for the environment. Greenpeace Germany also has other volunteers belonging to other age groups. Some volunteers are as young as 10 years old.
To play on a popular sports ad slogan, age is nothing.
'Wake Up'
We met up with several members of the Bundestag and presented a huge alarm clock to show them that it's time to wake up and adopt the 2020 target. Among those who supported the campaign were Bundestag Vice-President Dr. Susanne Kastner (SPD) and Dr. Peter Struck (SPD).
Touring the Reichstag
To end the Klimaschutz Camp, we went inside the Reichstag to get a feel on how draft legislations are tabled and processed. Thanks to an invitation coming from one of the Bundestag members, we got a special pass and went inside through the side entrance (all visitors have to wait in long lines at the front entrance). Nonetheless, everyone has to go through a security check. The security people even asked us to remove clothes bearing the SolarGen and Greenpeace logos. I guess they were just making sure that we would not make noise about the Klimaschutz Camp during the tour. We also listened to parts of the afternoon session, which was about the moratorium on whaling.