People’s Climate March POS 2015

World’s leaders, including our very own from Trinidad & Tobago were to attend the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP 21). This vital meeting, came at a time when there was finally worldwide agreement in the scientific, government and private communities that global warming is reality, and the average temperature increase over the last 30 years is agreed to be 0.8°C.

In T&T where we have built so much of ourselves and economy on fossil fuels, we have felt that it isn’t our place to talk about climate change. However, the opposite is in fact true. It is our responsibility. As one of the biggest beneficiaries of fossil fuels, it is our responsibility to engage in these talks and use our resources, creativity and genius as a nation to become a leader in the solutions. We must look at how we can re-invest now into a renewable energy landscape which can pave the way to become a leading example regionally, and equally importantly, give us the energy security we need so that when our fossil fuel resources are depleted our children and grandchildren have an energy secure, clean-and-green nation, with a diversified economy that can sustain itself beyond the Era of the Oil. Our beautiful twin islands’ untouched landscapes are one of our most precious resources to draw in tourists, nature seekers and other types of investors, all of which would turn their eyes far more quickly to Trinidad & Tobago if we show ourselves to be leaders in environmental, economic and social sustainability.

With these sentiments in mind, IAMovement felt that the citizens of Trinidad should show their interest in the success of COP 21 through another Climate March. Our 2015 March was certainly bigger than our previous event in 2014. The #POStoParis People’s Climate March 2015 took place at Nelson Mandela Park and the Queen’s Park Savannah on November 29th. Thousands of other events simultaneously took place worldwide.

For our 2015 March, we hosted an “Eco-Village” in Nelson Mandela Park made up of booths by many environmentally conscious groups, organizations and schools from around Trinidad & Tobago who have been doing excellent work to conserve, protect, rehabilitate and raise awareness about our nation’s wildlife, ecosystems and natural environment.

Attendees of the 2015 March had the opportunity to mingle and meet these groups, organizations and schools to learn more about their different missions and work in T&T, and to hear about climate change as it affects and pertains to them. ClimaQuest, Wild Fowl Trust, Asa Wright Nature Centre, SWMCOL, CYEN TT, Nature Seekers, Fondes Amandes Community Reforestation Project, EMA, Plastikeep, Green Warriors and Smart Energy were some of the groups present at the “Eco Village”.

Before proceeding with the march around the Savannah, speeches concerning the climate situation in Trinidad and the COP 21 meeting in Paris were given by key members of IAMovement. Attendees were also addressed by Mr. Richard Blewitt (United Nations) and H.E. Hédi PICQUART (French Ambassador). After the march, we made our way into the savannah to form a large human heart which was captured by drone photography. To see more photos of the #POStoParis People’s Climate March 2015, visit our Facebook page.