Intense protests are taking place across the UK and Ireland to urge action at critical moments Police 26 International talks in Glasgow.
Protesters Parade through the Scottish cities where the United Nations Climate Conference is being held in heavy rain and strong winds, while other parades are taking place in the middle London And other cities in the UK.
In Glasgow, thousands of climate activists, union members, politicians, and other groups were part of the thousands of marchers who gathered in and around Kelvingrove Park before the parade crossed the city to the Glasgow green space, despite the large number of police officers at Field, despite the forecast of heavy rain most of Saturday.
A fire truck, mossy women and Poseidon on stilts all appeared at the Glasgow protest, while a group of children led a display of what appeared to be a big snake wearing glasses in Kelvingrove Park.
When protesters marched from the City of London to central London, they walked behind a large banner
/ AFP via Getty ImagesA man with a child holding a banner to participate in a protest outside the Bank of England
/ ReutersIn London, hundreds of protesters gathered at the Bank of England to start a march. They beat steel drums, chanted “a solution,” and waved extinction rebellion banners that read “Tell the truth.”
The protesters planned to travel two miles to Trafalgar Square.
Climate protests have also started across the island of Ireland, with hundreds of people gathered in Dublin’s Garden of Remembrance to participate in one of the main demonstrations.
In Northern Ireland, the protesters gathered in Belfast and then staged a noisy and colorful march in the city centre before a planned rally in the town hall.
Organizers of the Cop26 Alliance say that a total of about 200 events are being held in the UK and around the world.
Before the parade, thousands of young activists including Greta Thunberg and Vanessa Nakate marched in Glasgow on Friday to protest investment in fossil fuels and failure to resolve the climate crisis.
Ms. Thunberg called the Cop26 conference “a global northern green drifting festival, a two-week business as usual celebration, etc.”.
The latest demonstration took place in the middle of the Cop26 summit. World leaders gathered to formulate the actions they are taking and pledged to curb deforestation, phase out coal, end funding for foreign fossil fuels, and reduce methane emissions.
However, there is still a huge gap between the measures that countries have promised and those needed to avoid warming above 1.5 degrees Celsius, beyond which the worst floods, droughts, storms and rising climate change sea levels will be felt.
Countries are under pressure to agree on a process to raise ambitions over the next decade, as well as to provide funding for developing countries to deal with the crisis and finalize the final part of how the Paris Agreement on global climate change will work.
As the protests progress, Cop26 negotiations continue, and Saturday’s meeting will also focus on the role of nature, land use and agriculture in tackling climate change.
Jason Cook, 54, from Wootton Bassett, said he and two friends were marching in Glasgow because they were tired of hearing the “nonsense” of climate action leaders.
A woman in Glasgow yelled through a megaphone
/ ReutersA protester dressed as a penguin in Glasgow
/ ReutersHe told the PA News Agency: “We don’t want to hear any more nonsense, nonsense, nonsense.”
The three men took part in the parade wearing helmets, and each of them wore a sign that read “nonsense”, echoing Ms. Thunberg’s description of the Cop26 summit.
Dave Knight, 51, from Wiltshire, said that the best way to avoid the worst effects of climate change is to stop using and mining fossil fuels.
“(There are) a lot of words, but we really need to act-end fossil fuels as soon as possible.”
He also said that renewable energy needs to “significantly increase investment.”
