Friends of the Earth Cardiff Cyfeillion y Ddaear Caerdydd

Cardiff Friends of the Earth members with blue dragon. Photo: Chris Brown. Cardiff Friends of the Earth.

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By Adam Corner

On Saturday 5th December, on the eve of the make-or-break climate change negotiations in Copenhagen, 2 coach loads of Cardiff residents joined 50,000 other people from across England and Wales in London for The Wave – the UK’s biggest ever climate change demonstration.

Demanding an ambitious, fair and legally binding global deal on reducing CO2 emissions, 50,000 citizens dressed in blue sent a ‘wave’ of protest through the city of London. In true ‘Cardiff Blues’ style, the Cardiff campaigners paraded a giant blue Welsh dragon through the city streets. The Welsh contingent proved that national pride and strong action on climate change go hand-in-hand – with the blue dragon standing up for a sustainable future.

Dai the Dragon was made in a series of community workshops in mid Wales.  He made his début appearance with Welsh Environment Minister Jane Davidson in Cardiff at the Assembly on 25 November. Also on the march was a banner with the faces of young people from Wales who could not be there on the day.

Cardiff citizen Tim Fisher said “I’m proud to be campaigning as part of the Wales group at The Wave. Tackling climate change is the biggest challenge facing the world today, but Wales is one of the best placed countries to develop renewable energy and low-carbon technology. We’ve got enough wind and water to last for ever – Wales should be leading the way in the green revolution”.

The Wave campaigners were calling for world leaders at Copenhagen to agree cuts of 40 percent in rich countries' emissions by 2020, and to deliver enough financial and technological support for developing countries to adapt to climate change and develop their economies in a green way. Cardiff County Council recently announced that it supported these aims, but the hard work begins now, when everyone from national governments, to businesses, to local councils must practice what they preach.

The Cardiff Friends of the Earth coordinator, Raoul Bhambral, said “Cardiff Council is supporting ambitious global cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. This is perfectly right and we support it. But we also need to see more action locally – the next few months will be crucial. We want to see some specific carbon cuts from the council across Cardiff. In the new year we will be pushing for Cardiff Council to Get Serious about CO2, which is the name of our next campaign. They can talk the talk, but can they walk the walk? We are confident we can get there.”

Find out more about The Wave, Gordon Brown's response, and view pictures of the day.

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