Bearing Witness, Bangkok

Don't drown our future:

On the first day of May, Greenpeace staff and volunteers and 36 members of SolarGeneration went to the coastal community at Khun Samutchine in Samut Prakan Province, Thailand to bear witness to the impacts of sea level rise, erosion and storm surges which threatens the fishing villages and mangrove ecosystem.
Bearing banners that say "Save the Climate" and "Don't Drown our Future" as well as individual messages on climate change and renewable energy, SolarGeneration members from 7 countries (China, France, Germany, India, Thailand, Philippines) also visited the Buddhist temple in the community that today is partly claimed by the sea. The team also had a chance to talk to Samorn Knegsamut (the village chief) and one of the Buddhist monks that is now protecting the temple.Along with our team were IPS, Reuters, EPA and Bankok Post. paper on our trip. We're all muddy and tired but the 1 hour treck to the area was worth it.

Solargeneration Kiosk, Bangkok

Bangkok, THAILAND — “The message is clear: we must choose clean and safe energy solutions--anything else is a betrayal to the earth’s future generations.” Greenpeace and SolarGeneration youth issued this challenge to world governments today as they presented renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions at the opening of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group III meeting held today in Bangkok.
Solar Generation spoke out as they met wth IPCC Chair Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, a special guest at their SolarGeneration kiosk just outside the meeting venue at the UN Convention Center. Dr Pachauri addressed the students, representing youth from Thailand, India, Indonesia, Philippines, China, Germany, and France, and acknowledged the importance of youth involvement on climate change issues.“The only climate change solutions we want are those that will guarantee a safer and better future. Our governments should not consider proposals which will do more harm than good,” said Karla de Guia, a SolarGeneration member from the Philippines. “We believe that renewable energy is the only perfect solution.”The IPCC meets in Bangkok to discuss policy recommnedations to mitigate climate change. The report will be made public at the end of the meeting on Thursday. Various press agencies have reported that options expected to be presented in the meeting will range from energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy to dangerous and untested technologies such as nuclear and carbon capture and storage.