Team sails out of Amsterdam for 50-day journey to UN Climate summit in Chile

A group of 36 young people departed from Amsterdam by sailboat on Tuesday afternoon, heading towards the UN Climate Summit in Chile. With their six to eight week-long journey to the South American country, the team wants to draw attention to a climate-neutral future for travel.

The 25th UN Climate Summit (COP) will be held in Chile's capital city Santiago from December 2nd to 13th. Team 'Sail to the COP' will sail to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, from where they will travel to Santiago by bus. If all goes according to plan, the over 10 thousand kilometer-long sailing trip will take them about seven weeks and they will reach Rio de Janeiro on November 20th.

"At the conference and throughout our trip, we want to raise our concerns about the negative impact of air travel on our planet", Sail to the COP said on its website. Their goal is to talk to the participants of the COP about including the aviation sector in climate measures that are being taken. They want global politicians to face the "absurd reality" that there are few alternatives to polluting aircraft, so that stricter climate rules can be implemented for the aviation sector.

The team hopes that this will help make the transport playing field more equal. "We want to make it easier, more affordable and more attractive to choose sustainable travel options like going by train, bus and bike."

Sail to the COP consists of 36 young people, including Dutch co-founder Mara de Pater.