Train to Copenhagen

It is the action that counts

Margrethe Sagevik — 2009-12-19T12:08:45Z

While digesting the disappointing outcome of the COP 15 in Copenhagen, some reflections pave their way to my key board.

The global leaders have not been able to agree on how we shall face the biggest threat to human kind in our time – how to combat climate change with a legal binding global agreement. They could not get their acts together for a theoretic framework on how to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions, on how this framework should be followed up on by concrete emissions reduction actions, on how these should be monitored, and on who should do what.

When the global leaders fail, the responsibility for saving the future of our planet is back on us - their people. Because the only things the earth needs are no more discussions and theory, but concrete actions to reduce emissions – now! This is leading us back to rail as a part of the solution to reduce the increasing emissions from the transport sector – the main message of the Train to Copenhagen communications campaign. More than ever train is a part of the solution – right here, right now!

At least COP 15 demonstrated the global leaders' willingness to come and act together – and in the end they reached to something to work further with. So while the global leaders are preparing themselves for the challenges around how to follow-up on the outcome of COP 15 in 2010, we will have to get onboard the “Train from Copenhagen” and continue to promoting rail and to ensuring that concrete actions like reducing emissions from the transport sector will contribute to saving our planet!

The Swiss high-level delegation for COP 15 arrived by train in Copenhagen Thursday morning

Margrethe Sagevik — 2009-12-17T12:49:00Z

Thursday 17/12 morning the Swiss delegation for COP 15 arrived safely at the main station, Hovedbanegaarden, in Copenhagen.


Moritz Leuenberger, Swiss Transport Minister, speaking to his fellow train travellers and press at the arrival in Copenhagen

80 people travelled together by train from Switzerland to Copenhagen, including the Swiss delegation arriving for the high-level segment of COP 15. The participants of the train were welcomed with breakfast at the station by the Danish Railways.

The journey had included meetings and conferences and obviously a good night of sleep because the participants seemed surprisingly fresh by the arrival!

Train as the transport mode of the future was one of the main issues discussed onboard, and one coach of the train had been dedicated to a school class who had been given the opportunity to challenge the politicians onboard. Also young Swiss politicians had one dedicated coach were they were setting agenda.

The Swiss transport Minister thanked his fellow train riders and the Danish Railways in a speech at the breakfast event at the station, claiming that this train had proved that train is not only environmentally friendly, but also human friendly! By bringing all these people together from different generations and segments of the climate debate, the train had facilitated great discussions and network opportunities!

The train of the Swiss delegation was hosted by the Swiss Railways, and was organised under the umbrella of the UIC Train to Copenhagen campaign.

Bringing Copenhagen to the people

Delphine Margot — 2009-12-17T10:12:57Z

Messages to the world leaders at COP 15 from people we met along the symbolic Kyoto to Copenhagen journey. Along our way from Kyoto to Copenhagen we collected messages from people we met to pass on to the decision makers at COP 15 in Copenhagen. We did this by speaking with people, filming street interviews and taking signatures on a UNEP petition.

You can watch some of the messages yourself in the video clips on this website.

This is a selection from some of the messages we gathered while travelling from Kyoto, Japan to Copenhagen.

“To pile up many small things, to accumulate little efforts together, makes a big difference. We have to continue doing this for the next generation, and the generations to come!

“We have to be aware that there is only one earth – and this earth is for everybody!”

“Support the Kyoto mechanism and initiatives for forest protection. Copenhagen should develop new and transparent mechanisms for forest protection. These mechanisms should show the local and national governments that there are economic incentives provided for forest protection – the economic benefits of forest protection can provide for local communities.”

“When you stand at the coast, looking out at the sea, you realise that you are so small on this earth and that it is really important that we take care of our earth – for us and for the generations after us!”

“We have to acknowledge that we have an ecological problem and increase the awareness about it!”

“Be aware of what happens if we do nothing! We have to do all that is necessary to reduce climate change!”

“I probably won't live long enough to see the consequences of climate change, but I have two sons and they will. That's why I want to see something done now.”

Be an ecopassenger!

Aymeric Boniou — 2009-12-11T09:49:55Z

- How to get to Copenhagen?

Videos

Aymeric Boniou — 2009-12-09T15:33:28Z

http://it.euronews.net/2009/12/06/c...

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SNCF

Kyoto to Copenhagen

The Kyoto to Copenhagen Journey

Aymeric Boniou — 2009-12-06T23:55:01Z

- What is it?

The 7th story about love

Margrethe Sagevik — 2009-12-05T22:50:00Z

Having arrived safely in Copenhagen and at the United Nations Climate Change conference, it is time to share the 7th story of love from the Trans-Siberian railways. It is about the love we share for our planet.

You might have wondered what the collecting love stories on the Trans-Siberian Railways line during the symbolic Kyoto – Copenhagen journey had to do with climate change. The answer is short – everything!

While collecting messages from people to the decision makers at COP 15 in Copenhagen we often experienced that people did not feel comfortable when we started by asking about climate change. They claimed they did not feel qualified to answer. When we started by asking for a contribution for our collection of love stories from the Trans-Siberian Railways the conversation started to run very smoothly.

Asking people for a love story became our ice breaker and introduction to good dialogues. We were at the core of life. From there the link to what we care about and what we worry about was often short, and people revealed knowledge and strong opinions about climate change – and what we have to do – and before we knew it people were delivering their messages to the decision makers at C0P 15.

The seventh story of love from the Trans-Siberian Railways thus includes some reflections on the power of words and language. The technical terms used in the climate change debate might create distance for people living far from the United Nations Climate Change conference. The language used there is filled with abbreviations and codes. For example COP 15 means the 15th conference of Parties to the UNFCCC which is the United Nations Framework Conventions on Climate Change and CO2 which is carbon dioxide and is difficult to picture and relate to even when we put figures on it. Especially when the decison makers are to agree on targets for how to reduce these. People have told us about how the temperature, the weather and the nature are changing and what we have to do reverse this - and how this relates to their lives.

We do hope that we with the motto 'Bringing people to Copenhagen and Copenhagen to the people' did succeed in supporting and increasing awareness on the urgency to act on climate change among the people we met on our way towards Copenhagen. At least we got very inspired and encouraged by these meetings and dialogues. We learnt about the love we share for our planet.

To end the reporting on romance on the Trans-Siberian Railway line we shortly add that we learnt from the staff onboard with many examples (some we have shared here) that this train has a reputation for being a place where one can find true and long lasting love...

What kind of present will Copenhagen give the world this Christmas?

Aymeric Boniou — 2009-12-05T21:42:29Z

It was time to wrap up. Time to bring the days discussions to a formal conclusion - although there was still a couple of hours left before we arrived in Copenhagen. The panel was made up of Achim Steiner from UNEP, Jean-Pierre Loubinoux from UIC, Nicole Wilke from the German Ministry for the Environment and Jason Anderson, WWF International.

We heard how Copenhagen had to achieve new mechanisms for CO2 reduction, as well as setting high targets and agreeing how the transition to a low carbon economy will be paid for.

Mr. Loubinoux explained how transport had to become part of the climate negotiations and re-emphasised the role of rail. He explained how the railway sector had already voluntarily agreed to an emissions cut of 30% by 2030. He also explained how rail can benefit society by reducing death and injury caused by transport compared to the roads and that the land taken by rail was less than that taken by roads.

However for a modal shift from road and air to rail there will need to be investment in new infrastructure and the removal of perverse incentives where rail pays carbon taxes on its electricity but other sectors are not required to internalise their environmental costs.

Jason Anderson issued the clearest challenge. Europe's offer of 20% essentially meant no new effort on emissions reduction by Europe. He said that there was a real chance that the loopholes in a new deal might outweigh the new targets.

As he said, "there is a danger that Copenhagen will be like a cheap Christmas present, nicely wrapped up in ribbon and paper, but disappointing and of no real value."

The Climate Express team hopes that we will be delighted by the present we receive from Copenhagen, not disappointed by a cheap gift concealed by its wrapper.

Cartooning the climate express

Aymeric Boniou — 2009-12-05T14:43:39Z

It's Tom's job to capture the climate express in cartoons, diagrams and drawings. He's part of a group called Bigger Picture who specialise in capturing events in graphic form - graphic recording - and today they are on the train.

I asked him how they manage to capture such complex ideas and so much activity.

Tom said, "We try to be as open as we can, to just observe. Sometimes we ask questions. I just asked Mr. Pepy (SNCF) and asked him about his vision - what he would ideally like - for 2020. His goals are of course high speed trains and an efficient rail network - and I'll probably draw that vision as as a cartoon.

So we use all sorts of graphical representation to create the bigger picture because visuals somehow speak to people more effectively than words alone."

So what are these first images, what is in your minds eye so far, what would you put on the postcard of the journey that you are producing?

Tom said, "We started sketching people arriving in Brussels Midi - tired, needing a coffee, then we attended the first conference, we ended up standing behind the bar and were passing bottles of water across while we were sketching! We have registered a very optimistic and warm atmosphere on the train even with some confusion as people make their way up and down the train."

On the climate express - Brussels to Cologne

Aymeric Boniou — 2009-12-05T12:40:51Z

The conversation has started. Press conferences block the route from one end to the other. A journalist crouches speaking live to her radio station. I push my way through to meet one of my hero's - Mark Smith - founder of the website - the man in seat 61. This website is a fantastic source of information for travelling by rail across Europe.

I asked Mark - an Englishman - why he set up the web-site. He said, "When I travel to Europe I always take the train. Eurostar will tell you how to get to Paris or Brussels. But there is no information for Rome, Venice, Barcelona, so I thought if you want something done you should do it yourself, and started the web-site.

I wanted a site online that told you very simply how to book, what the trains are like, because they are different from their commuter trains to work, people don't know what sleeper trains look like, how much it costs and were to buy tickets."

What started as a hobby has now become Marks full-time job. I asked him if there were similar sites for people in other parts of Europe or whether their rails systems gave enough information.

"With an increasingly fragmented booking system across Europe you often need to use two or even three web-sites for one journey. So people from many countries are using the web-site and we're even considering setting up sites in the Nederlands and France."

Mark has found a niche helping people travel by train across networks who are so focussed on their national customers that they don't consider the possibilities of trans-national travel. We hope his work encourages this to change.