The protesters call on the Belgian government to respect the commitments made by the Belgian government during the Paris Agreement in 2015, when COP24 opened in Katowice, Poland, on Sunday.
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated Sunday in the center of Brussels to call on the Belgian government to respect the commitments made in the Paris Agreement in 2015 to fight against global warming.
The peaceful demonstration, which has gathered about 65,000 people according to police estimates, was organized when COP24 opened in Katowice, Poland on Sunday. The protesters called on the Belgian authorities to pursue an "ambitious" climate policy to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius as recommended by the text adopted at COP 21. The organizers of the parade called for a wider use of energy. renewables, more cycle paths and improved air quality by respecting a "socially just transition" .
"This reality tells us that we have to do much more"
The impacts of climate change "have never been more severe" and must push the international community to "do much more" to combat it, pleaded Sunday the UN Climate Manager on the first day of COP24. "This year should be one of the hottest four ever recorded. Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere are at an all time high and emissions continue to rise, " Patricia Espinosa said in a statement.
"The impacts of climate change have never been so severe. This reality tells us that we must do much more. COP24 must make it possible, " she added. Climate disruption is striking "already communities all over the planet" and the resulting "victims, destruction, suffering" "make our work more urgent," she said.
The delegations of some 200 countries have gathered since Sunday in Poland for the 24th UN Climate Conference to bring the Paris agreement back on track in the face of the climate emergency.