Global March for the Climate: gatherings around the world
Climate rally near the Bank of England in London, Saturday, November 6, 2021. AP - David Cliff
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
From Glasgow to Sidney, via London, Mexico City or even Nairobi, while the COP26 is completing its first week of work, tens of thousands of people are expected in the streets all over the world on November 6 to demand that world leaders are doing more in the fight against global warming.
more than 200 events are planned, according to the coalition of organizations behind the mobilization.
Advertising
Read more
In London, the procession started in the early afternoon, reports our correspondent,
Claire Digiacomi
. The demonstrators met in the heart of the City, in front of the Bank of England, a symbol, of course, a way of saying that the fight against climate change passes above all through finance, that of fossil fuels, that contribute to global warming.
The protesters will walk about three kilometers to reach Trafalgar Square in central London.
People keep coming, many young people but not only them, there are also parents, grandparents.
Janet, 52, said that when she was 20 we were already talking about the climate, but that the subject was not taken as seriously as it is today, and she regrets not having mobilized at that time.
That's why she's here today.
For her, the COP26 in Glasgow has so far been “
greenwashing
” - what she wrote on her sign.
That is to say, she believes that the leaders of the whole world are giving themselves a clear conscience by adorning themselves in green, but that all this is only fatal.
►
To read also:
The “greenwashing”, a big masquerade denounced with virulence on the social networks
The COP26 is a bearer of hope, but some demonstrators also believe that this first week has been very shy, too shy.
What they want to see in the coming days are real commitments to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above the pre-industrial level, enshrined in
the Paris agreement in 2015.
Few people at the start of the rally in Paris
In the French capital, the
rally
began at 12 p.m. Paris time in front of the Town Hall.
Few people at the start of the rally and a little disappointment on the part of the organizers, relates our special correspondent,
Pierre Olivier.
However, the people gathered are very determined.
These are mostly young people between 25 and 40 years old and many came with their children with a clear message: "
We don't want future generations to accuse us of not having done anything, of not having moved." the little finger to save our planet
”.
✊Activists posted portraits of leaders guilty of climate inaction and crimes against life!
# COP26 # ClimateJustice # ActionClimat pic.twitter.com/xZeY1LQZvK
- Attac France (@attac_fr) November 6, 2021
Among the messages that the gathered people wish to convey, there is also the inaction of the leaders.
And besides, large portraits of world leaders, painted on large canvases are displayed on the forecourt, with the
caption
: “
Inactive at COP26, dying in 2050
”.
But despite the urgency that seems to emanate from this message, strolling onlookers and tourists seem to watch this gathering with some amusement, in any case do not join in the festivities, preferring to continue their walk.
"
It's sad,
" confided one of the participants who, however, did not seem resigned, and even more motivated to continue this kind of action.
►
To read also:
The COP26 is a "failure", estimates Greta Thunberg in front of thousands of young people in Glasgow
In Sydney and Melbourne, demonstrators disguised as a pile of coal or as Scott Morrison, the Australian Prime Minister and great defender of the mining industry, denounced the COP26 as being "
a comedy
" and their head of government as "
an absolute disgrace.
".
In South Korea, some 500 people marched through the streets of the capital Seoul to demand immediate help from populations already hit hard by the effects of global warming.
► To read also:
Global March for the climate: in Sidney, the demonstrators denounce the inaction of Australia
In Glasgow, Scotland, police said they were waiting for up to 50,000 people to march near the tightly-secured convention center where the UN's COP26 is being held, seen as key to the future of the 'humanity.
The COP26 negotiations, scheduled to last until November 12, continue this Saturday before a break on Sunday.
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
COP26
Weather
UK
France
Society
Climate change