Two Indonesian youths are set to embark on a "Green Journey" to the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen from Dec. 7 to Dec. 18.
Goris Mustaqim and Inggried Dwi Wedhaswary will be representing the British Council Indonesia as the voice of young Indonesians in the international event.
"Indonesia became a stepping stone in the fight against climate change when we hosted the summit in Bali *in 2007*," said the British Council Indonesia spokeswoman Eka Wahyuni. "These young participants will remind the world about the Bali Roadmap, and encourage leaders to transform it into action."
Inggried said young people urgently needed to take action to tackle climate change, given they were the future citizens of the world.
"We're the ones who will continue living *on this planet*, we also have a high interest in this summit."
Goris and Inggried will be traveling on a "green journey", which will involve leaving a minimal carbon footprint but a maximum impact while raising awareness about climate change issues along the way.
When landing in London, the two will first meet their foreign counterparts sent by the British Council and then join the "Train to Copenhagen" program initiated by the International Union of Railways, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The program consists of a symbolic one-month and nearly 9,000 kilometer-long train journey from Kyoto to Copenhagen to document the impacts of climate change and raise awareness about low-carbon transport solutions.
According to the British Council, the train is one of the most energy-efficient transportation modes. Its carbon emissions are three to 10 times lower than the car or airplane.
"They will travel to Brussels, where they will continue their journey to Copenhagen using the Climate Express train," said Eka of the special train that produces very low levels of carbon emissions.
On their train trip, Goris and Inggried will take part in various activities such as gathering support for efforts tackling climate change and promoting those initiatives.
"On our return to Indonesia, we'll offset our carbon emissions accrued from travelling by plane," said Goris. "After calculating our carbon footprint, we'll plant trees to compensate for the emissions we produced."
The British Council Indonesia selected Goris, 26, and Inggried, 28, through the International Climate Champion (ICC), launched two years ago. The program aims to find and help talented young individuals raise awareness about climate change to their peers, the public and key decision-makers.
Goris, the youth-based Asgar Muda founder in Garut, West Java, represents young entrepreneurs setting up businesses in a green way. While Inggried, a journalist with kompas.com, represents young reporters committed to reporting on climate change issues for the public.
Source: The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 12/02/2009 Dian Kuswandini
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