On Saturday 24th October, millions of people around the world participated in the largest global protest for a safe climate future. These protests formed part of the international day of action known as the ‘350.org’ campaign. Approximately 5200 separate actions in 181 countries were organised for the day, with over 160 events happening across Australia.
“350″ refers to the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (in parts per million) that has been identified by scientists as the safe upper limit. Ongoing carbon emissions created through the burning of fossil fuels, industrial scale agriculture and deforestation has forced this level of atmospheric CO2 to rise by 2ppm each year, to total almost 390 parts per million. In order to prevent the inevitable climate chaos that will be brought on by this global warming, governments must commit to lowering the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350ppm. This campaign aimed to “inspire the world to rise to the challenge of the climate crisis“, and mobilise political leaders, the media and the public behind the 350 goal.
Plenty of events were held Australia-wide which helped to show the world that we are concerned about climate change, and that we’re demanding a safe and sustainable future for generations to come. In Sydney, over 1000 people were down in Circular Quay, helping to form a human/umbrella ‘350′ on the Opera House steps. The day was considered to be a great success, and will hopefully put pressure on global leaders before December, when the international conference on climate change will be held in Copenhagen.
For more information on how you can get involved in the 350.org campaign, please click here. To see photographs of Saturday’s events, you can check out 350.org’s flickr photo-stream here.
