Photo Essay From COP23 In Bonn

“As a journalist and a writer, I can’t stop thinking that sometimes, pictures are at least as powerful as words.” Anne-Sophie Garrigou, Editor-In-Chief of The Beam, brought back some pictures from her visit to COP23 in Bonn.

In a village in Germany that is threatened by coal, the Pacific Climate Warriors held a traditional ceremony in solidarity with over a thousand climate activists who are poised to blockade coal operations in a mass action of civil disobedience.

George Nacewa, Climate Warrior from the Fiji Islands, said: “The world is at a turning point, the climate crisis is no longer a future threat: it’s a clear and present danger. Climate change is affecting all and will continue to affect you, me and the places that we call home. If we don’t stand up in the face of climate change, who will?”

The Pacific Climate Warriors represent various grassroots, front-line, and indigenous communities from across the Pacific. They demand an end to the age of fossil fuels and an immediate transition to renewable energy that is just and fair.

George Nacewa: “Germany’s coal mining exports destruction to the Pacific and the world. Climate change poses a direct threat to our home and our people. We demand an immediate end to the expansion of the fossil fuel industry. In order to give Pacific Islands a fighting chance for survival, the future must be one powered by renewable energy and free of fossil fuels.”

Environmental campaigners from around the world gathered on the eve of COP23 to protest against fossil fuels.

The alliance “Ende Gelände” criticized, among others, the German federal government, which “lacks the will to enforce climate justice.”

Protesters from France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Nigeria, and the UK came together to ask their governments to act now.

Patricia Espinosa was here to inaugurate the brand new Bonn UN Campus station.

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