News
The Prince’s Rainforests Project launches its 'Rainforest SOS' campaign
29th September 2009
To mark the launch of The Prince’s Rainforests Project’s Rainforest SOS campaign, The Prince of Wales has recorded a special video message in support of the campaign and the project. The film shows The Prince delivering a personal message alongside compelling and emotive imagery showing the plight of the rainforests and the scale of the destruction.View the video message:
In his message, The Prince of Wales says:
“Rainforests are utterly essential in our fight against climate change. They absorb nearly a fifth of all our carbon emissions and yet they are being destroyed at the rate of a football pitch every four seconds. To solve the problem, we have to find ways to ensure the trees become more valuable alive than dead so there is no incentive to cut them down.”
Following on from the success of the public awareness phase of the project launched in May this year, which has seen over 4.2 million view the campaign frog film, The Prince’s Rainforests Project (PRP) is now asking people across the globe to send a Rainforest SOS message to show their support for emergency action for the rainforests and help tackle climate change.
Getting involved with the campaign is easy - simply visit www.rainforestSOS.org and sign up, or text SOS and your full name to 60777*.
On behalf of the rainforests, The Prince of Wales and The Prince’s Rainforests Project are asking everyone to send an SOS in the form of their name, and an optional short message. This message is to demonstrate the level of public support for action to be taken to stop rainforest destruction because of the impact of the burning of forests on climate change. Such a message is vital ahead of global climate change negotiations in Copenhagen this December.
The Prince’s Rainforest SOS campaign will culminate at a major rainforest event to be hosted by The Prince of Wales in November. This event will include key leaders, NGO directors and leading figures from the business community. A representation of all those who have signed up during the campaign will be given to the assembled group as well as being included in a special edition of a book of rainforest photographs to be given to world leaders before Copenhagen. The photographs were taken by the renowned photographer, Daniel Beltrà, who was this year’s winner of the PRP Award at the Sony World Photography Awards. The aim is to highlight to all those who can make a difference that an emergency package for rainforests is essential in the fight against potentially catastrophic climate change.
Many of the world’s biggest online portals and well-known brands are coming together to support the PRP’s Rainforest SOS campaign. Partners will be carrying information about the campaign and the sign up request through their customer and employee channels via dedicated homepages, email signatures, customer communications, website content and donated banner space. The launch of the Rainforest SOS campaign will for the first time see AOL, Yahoo, Google, MySpace, Facebook, The John Lewis Partnership, BT, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Virgin and Sky, amongst others, unite behind this vitally important cause.
As well as substantial support from members of the general public and corporate partners, well-known figures, including most recently Vivienne Westwood, Joanna Lumley, Billy Connelly, Rod Stewart, Stephen Fry and Rory Bremner, have recorded messages, lending their voices to the project.
This level of support reflects a growing understanding that rainforests are critical for our survival as they regulate rainfall, preserve biodiversity and, most importantly, store vast amounts of carbon. Tropical deforestation is a major cause of greenhouse gas emissions and the burning of the rainforests produces more carbon emissions per year than the entire global transport sector. Without tackling this problem it will be impossible to avoid catastrophic climate change.
The Prince’s Rainforests Project (PRP) was established in October 2007 by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales to develop consensus as to how the rate of rainforest destruction might be slowed. Rainforests regulate rainfall, preserve biodiversity and, most importantly, store vast amounts of carbon. Tropical deforestation is a major cause of greenhouse gas emissions and without tackling this problem it may be impossible to avoid catastrophic climate change. The PRP is working with governments, international businesses and non-profit organisations to find a solution.