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A group of climate activists are cycling to the world’s biggest climate summit – and doing it without ever setting foot on a plane.
passed hundreds of riders Europe In recent weeks, convergence in portugalwhere a group was bound for a sailboat brazilTheir destination: Belém, the Amazonian city hosting the United Nations COP30 climate talks in November. The summit is expected to attract tens of thousands of negotiators, scientists and activists, with governments under pressure to agree on stronger measures to protect the Amazon and phase out fossil fuels.
The COP30 bike ride began in Azerbaijan, host of last year’s COP29 summit, and has traveled nearly 8,000 kilometers (about 5,000 miles) across Eurasia in 20 weeks. Over 600 cyclists have taken part in various parts of the journey. A second branch of the initiative covered an additional 1,800 kilometers (1,100 mi) in Northern Europe with another 200 riders, and others cycled through parts of Eastern and Southern Africa.
“The main message we want to bring to world leaders and ordinary people is that cycling should be considered a serious option for reducing transport-related carbon emissions,” said Dutch organizer and participant Joline Scorel. “It’s also healthy, cheap, fun – and one of the most feasible options to implement if cities invest in infrastructure.”
Schorel said the project grew from a symbolic ride to COP29 BakuWhere the cyclists handed a banner to a Brazilian representative promising to reach COP30 in the same way.
The journey has struck a chord in the communities they pass through. In Zambia, schoolchildren listened wide-eyed as riders described covering thousands of kilometers by bike.
Speaking to The Associated Press on Tuesday, Scorel recounted what he had heard in a morning call from Enock Kitheka, one of the cyclists leading the ride across Africa.
“One boy only had a coin, and he said: ‘I don’t have much, but I want to support your ride. Maybe it’s enough for some water.’ It was very touching,” she said.
For Scorel, the ride has been deeply personal.
“It’s really special to me that so many people from all over the world collaborated to make this,” she said. “People connect with bicycles, arrange accommodation, contact municipalities. And everyone coordinates it between each other. It makes the ride very connected both internationally and locally. And when we arrive in a city, we are often given a very warm welcome.”
After weeks of cycling across Eurasia, they are sailing to Brazil instead of taking a plane, underscoring their pledge to avoid fossil-fuel transport.
Organizers say their approach aims to reach “hearts, minds, and hands” – hearts through the stories of the communities who lived there, minds through practical policy proposals, and hands by completing the journey without burning fossil fuels.
When they reach Belém, riders from different branches will regroup and cycle together into the gateway city of the Amazon. They plan to present their demands to negotiators as COP30 opens.
“We may be a small group, but our voices – and our paddles – show that we can still choose a different path,” Scorel said.
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