COP26: Thousands rally in Glasgow to demand climate action
Issued on: 06/11/2021
Issued on: 06/11/2021
A demonstrator holds a sign during a protest as the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) takes place, in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 6, 2021. Text by: NEWS WIRES|
Video by: FRANCE 24
Thousands of climate protesters braved torrential rain in Glasgow on Saturday to take part in worldwide demonstrations against what campaigners say is a failure of crunch UN talks to bring about the radical action needed to tame global warming.
Dozens of events are planned worldwide to demand cuts in fossil fuel use and immediate help for communities already affected by climate change, particularly in the poorer countries in the South.
In Glasgow, organisers and police said they ultimately expected up to 50,000 people to parade through the streets of the Scottish city.
Demonstrators began gathering on Saturday morning in a park near the COP26 summit venue, chanting: "Our world is under attack, stand up fight back!"
"I think a lot of politicians are scared of the power of this movement," said a 22-year-old Norwegian protester who gave her name as Jenny.
She said it was important to fight for people from smaller nations who could not travel to the conference, which has been beset by accusations of exclusion.
Delegates from nearly 200 countries are in Glasgow to hammer out how to meet the Paris Agreement goals of limiting temperature rises to between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius.
At the halfway stage of the COP26 negotiations, some countries have upgraded their existing pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while there have been separate deals on phasing out coal, ending foreign fossil fuel funding, and slashing methane.
Widespread demos
The promises followed a pre-COP26 estimate from the UN that said national climate plans, when brought together, put Earth on course to warm 2.7C this century.
With just 1.1C of warming so far, communities across the world are already facing ever more intense fire and drought, displacement and economic ruin wrought by global heating.
And a major assessment last week showed global CO2 emissions were set to rebound in 2021 to pre-pandemic levels.
Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg said the summit had gone nowhere near far enough in a speech at Friday's youth march in Glasgow, where she labelled the conference "a failure".
In Australia on Saturday, protesters in Sydney and Melbourne -- some dressed as lumps of coal or Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a vigorous defender of the mining industry -- echoed that sentiment, calling the talks "a sham" and their national leader "an absolute embarrassment".
"No more blah, blah blah. Real climate action now," read one sign at a protest in Sydney.
South Korean capital Seoul saw roughly 500 take to the streets demanding immediate action for communities already hit by the fallout of a heating planet.
About 1,000 people gathered in London outside the Bank of England with placards reading "Less talk more action" and "No More COP outs".
But others have urged critics not to rush to judgement about the UN-led climate process.
"COP26 has barely started," tweeted Michael Mann, director of Penn State's Earth System Science Center.
"Activists declaring it dead on arrival makes fossil fuel executives jump for joy."
'Words not enough'
Security has been boosted in Glasgow and many city-centre shops closed for Saturday's march, which is expected to draw a variety of groups including Extinction Rebellion.
"Many thousands of us are marching right across the world today to demand immediate and serious action," said Scottish activist Mikaela Loach.
"We're clear that warm words are not good enough -- and that the next week of talks must see a serious ramping up of concrete plans."
COP26 negotiations will continue on Saturday before pausing on Sunday ahead of what is shaping up to be a frantic week of shuttle diplomacy, as ministers arrive to push through hard-fought compromises.
Countries still need to flesh out how pledges made in the Paris deal work in practice, including rules governing carbon markets, common reporting timeframes and transparency.
Brianna Fruean, a Samoan member of the Pacific Climate Warriors, who addressed a world leaders' summit at the start of COP26, said it was time for leaders to take note of protesters' demands.
"It can't go on like this," she said.
"We refuse to be just victims to this crisis. We are not drowning, we are fighting and on Saturday the world will hear us."
(AFP)
Video by: FRANCE 24
Thousands of climate protesters braved torrential rain in Glasgow on Saturday to take part in worldwide demonstrations against what campaigners say is a failure of crunch UN talks to bring about the radical action needed to tame global warming.
Dozens of events are planned worldwide to demand cuts in fossil fuel use and immediate help for communities already affected by climate change, particularly in the poorer countries in the South.
In Glasgow, organisers and police said they ultimately expected up to 50,000 people to parade through the streets of the Scottish city.
Demonstrators began gathering on Saturday morning in a park near the COP26 summit venue, chanting: "Our world is under attack, stand up fight back!"
"I think a lot of politicians are scared of the power of this movement," said a 22-year-old Norwegian protester who gave her name as Jenny.
She said it was important to fight for people from smaller nations who could not travel to the conference, which has been beset by accusations of exclusion.
Delegates from nearly 200 countries are in Glasgow to hammer out how to meet the Paris Agreement goals of limiting temperature rises to between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius.
At the halfway stage of the COP26 negotiations, some countries have upgraded their existing pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while there have been separate deals on phasing out coal, ending foreign fossil fuel funding, and slashing methane.
Widespread demos
The promises followed a pre-COP26 estimate from the UN that said national climate plans, when brought together, put Earth on course to warm 2.7C this century.
With just 1.1C of warming so far, communities across the world are already facing ever more intense fire and drought, displacement and economic ruin wrought by global heating.
And a major assessment last week showed global CO2 emissions were set to rebound in 2021 to pre-pandemic levels.
Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg said the summit had gone nowhere near far enough in a speech at Friday's youth march in Glasgow, where she labelled the conference "a failure".
In Australia on Saturday, protesters in Sydney and Melbourne -- some dressed as lumps of coal or Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a vigorous defender of the mining industry -- echoed that sentiment, calling the talks "a sham" and their national leader "an absolute embarrassment".
"No more blah, blah blah. Real climate action now," read one sign at a protest in Sydney.
South Korean capital Seoul saw roughly 500 take to the streets demanding immediate action for communities already hit by the fallout of a heating planet.
About 1,000 people gathered in London outside the Bank of England with placards reading "Less talk more action" and "No More COP outs".
But others have urged critics not to rush to judgement about the UN-led climate process.
"COP26 has barely started," tweeted Michael Mann, director of Penn State's Earth System Science Center.
"Activists declaring it dead on arrival makes fossil fuel executives jump for joy."
'Words not enough'
Security has been boosted in Glasgow and many city-centre shops closed for Saturday's march, which is expected to draw a variety of groups including Extinction Rebellion.
"Many thousands of us are marching right across the world today to demand immediate and serious action," said Scottish activist Mikaela Loach.
"We're clear that warm words are not good enough -- and that the next week of talks must see a serious ramping up of concrete plans."
COP26 negotiations will continue on Saturday before pausing on Sunday ahead of what is shaping up to be a frantic week of shuttle diplomacy, as ministers arrive to push through hard-fought compromises.
Countries still need to flesh out how pledges made in the Paris deal work in practice, including rules governing carbon markets, common reporting timeframes and transparency.
Brianna Fruean, a Samoan member of the Pacific Climate Warriors, who addressed a world leaders' summit at the start of COP26, said it was time for leaders to take note of protesters' demands.
"It can't go on like this," she said.
"We refuse to be just victims to this crisis. We are not drowning, we are fighting and on Saturday the world will hear us."
(AFP)
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER, FRANK JORDANS and SETH BORENSTEIN
11/6/2021
Climate activists hold up banners during a protest organized by the Cop26 Coalition in Glasgow, Scotland, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021 which is the host city of the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit. The protest was taking place as leaders and activists from around the world were gathering in Scotland's biggest city for the U.N. climate summit, to lay out their vision for addressing the common challenge of global warming. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — The public pressure that helped spur more world action on global warming is due to be on full display outside the U.N. climate summit Saturday, when thousands of demonstrators are expected to march through the rainy grey streets of Glasgow to demand leaders move faster to cut fossil fuels that are wrecking the climate.
Police helicopters buzzed over Glasgow early Saturday as authorities prepared for a second day of protests by climate activists. Scots are accustomed to inclement weather, and turnout for the march was expected to be strong despite stiff gusts and a drizzle that turned to cold rain.
Inside the more than half-mile-long (kilometer-long) conference venue, negotiators knuckled down for a seventh straight day of talks to finish draft agreements that can be passed to government ministers for political approval next week.
Among the issues being haggled over at the talks by almost 200 countries are a fresh commitment to the goal of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), getting countries to review their efforts more frequently in a way that would increase pressure for deeper cuts, and financial support for poor nations.
A Democratic and Republican delegation of U.S. senators was scheduled to visit the summit on Saturday. Off-year Republican victories that have unsettled members of President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party gave the bipartisan visit more impact.
The summit’s daily bustle of side events on Saturday also saw British actor Idris Elba bring his star power to the U.N. talks, highlighting the importance of helping small farmers cope with global warming.
Elba, known for roles such as the HBO series “The Wire,” BBC One’s “Luther” and this year’s Western film “The Harder the Come,” attended with Sabrina Dhowre Elba, a model and producer and his wife. They took the stage Saturday in support of the U.N.’s International Fund for Agricultural Development.
Elba said he wanted to highlight the dangers of global food chains being disrupted as small farmers in particular are hit by erratic seasonal rains, drought and other impacts of climate change.
“This conversation around food is something that needs to be really amplified, and one thing I’ve got is a big mouth,” said Elba, adding that 80% of the food consumed worldwide is produced by small-scale farmers.
Speaking on the same panel, Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, 24, said global warming is already causing hunger for millions around the world, including in her country.
She said a shift from meat to plant-based diets could help prevent millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year while freeing up more land for food farming that’s currently used for animal feed.
Saturday’s march was expected to draw a range of participants and ages, after tens of thousands of young people in the Fridays for Future movement protested Friday outside the conference’s steel fences and turnstiles.
Speaking at the Fridays for Future rally, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, 18, branded the U.N. climate talks in Glasgow so far “a failure,” accusing leaders of purposefully creating loopholes in the rules and giving misleading pictures of their countries’ emissions
“World leaders are obviously scared of the truth, yet no matter how hard they try, they cannot escape it,” Thunberg said. “They cannot ignore the scientific consensus, and above all they cannot ignore us - the people, including their own children.”
Thunberg’s mix of school strikes, blunt and impatient talk about government excuses, and mass demonstrations have galvanized climate protests since 2018, especially in Europe but to a lesser extent around the world.
The climate protest movement, and worsening droughts, storms and other disasters that brought home to many the accelerating damage of global warming, has kept pressure on governments for stronger and faster action to reduce fossil fuel emissions.
The Fridays For Future protest was part of a series of demonstrations being staged around the world Friday and Saturday to coincide with the Glasgow talks.
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — The public pressure that helped spur more world action on global warming is due to be on full display outside the U.N. climate summit Saturday, when thousands of demonstrators are expected to march through the rainy grey streets of Glasgow to demand leaders move faster to cut fossil fuels that are wrecking the climate.
Police helicopters buzzed over Glasgow early Saturday as authorities prepared for a second day of protests by climate activists. Scots are accustomed to inclement weather, and turnout for the march was expected to be strong despite stiff gusts and a drizzle that turned to cold rain.
Inside the more than half-mile-long (kilometer-long) conference venue, negotiators knuckled down for a seventh straight day of talks to finish draft agreements that can be passed to government ministers for political approval next week.
Among the issues being haggled over at the talks by almost 200 countries are a fresh commitment to the goal of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), getting countries to review their efforts more frequently in a way that would increase pressure for deeper cuts, and financial support for poor nations.
A Democratic and Republican delegation of U.S. senators was scheduled to visit the summit on Saturday. Off-year Republican victories that have unsettled members of President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party gave the bipartisan visit more impact.
The summit’s daily bustle of side events on Saturday also saw British actor Idris Elba bring his star power to the U.N. talks, highlighting the importance of helping small farmers cope with global warming.
Elba, known for roles such as the HBO series “The Wire,” BBC One’s “Luther” and this year’s Western film “The Harder the Come,” attended with Sabrina Dhowre Elba, a model and producer and his wife. They took the stage Saturday in support of the U.N.’s International Fund for Agricultural Development.
Elba said he wanted to highlight the dangers of global food chains being disrupted as small farmers in particular are hit by erratic seasonal rains, drought and other impacts of climate change.
“This conversation around food is something that needs to be really amplified, and one thing I’ve got is a big mouth,” said Elba, adding that 80% of the food consumed worldwide is produced by small-scale farmers.
Speaking on the same panel, Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, 24, said global warming is already causing hunger for millions around the world, including in her country.
She said a shift from meat to plant-based diets could help prevent millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year while freeing up more land for food farming that’s currently used for animal feed.
Saturday’s march was expected to draw a range of participants and ages, after tens of thousands of young people in the Fridays for Future movement protested Friday outside the conference’s steel fences and turnstiles.
Speaking at the Fridays for Future rally, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, 18, branded the U.N. climate talks in Glasgow so far “a failure,” accusing leaders of purposefully creating loopholes in the rules and giving misleading pictures of their countries’ emissions
“World leaders are obviously scared of the truth, yet no matter how hard they try, they cannot escape it,” Thunberg said. “They cannot ignore the scientific consensus, and above all they cannot ignore us - the people, including their own children.”
Thunberg’s mix of school strikes, blunt and impatient talk about government excuses, and mass demonstrations have galvanized climate protests since 2018, especially in Europe but to a lesser extent around the world.
The climate protest movement, and worsening droughts, storms and other disasters that brought home to many the accelerating damage of global warming, has kept pressure on governments for stronger and faster action to reduce fossil fuel emissions.
The Fridays For Future protest was part of a series of demonstrations being staged around the world Friday and Saturday to coincide with the Glasgow talks.
Greta Thunberg slams COP26 as 'greenwashing' failure
The 18-year-old Fridays For Future mainstay said that the world needed "immediate drastic annual emission cuts." She called world leaders to action instead of "profiting from this destruction."
Climate activist Greta Thunberg hit out at the lack of leadership against climate change
Globally renowned Swedish activist Greta Thunberg on Friday slammed the COP26 UN climate summit as "a failure" at the first of various protest marches throughout the weekend.
Thunberg labeled the summit in Glasgow to cut emissions "a two-week long celebration of business as usual and blah, blah, blah" during the Fridays for Future march.
The 18-year-old Fridays For Future mainstay said that the world needed "immediate drastic annual emission cuts." She called world leaders to action instead of "profiting from this destruction."
Climate activist Greta Thunberg hit out at the lack of leadership against climate change
Globally renowned Swedish activist Greta Thunberg on Friday slammed the COP26 UN climate summit as "a failure" at the first of various protest marches throughout the weekend.
Thunberg labeled the summit in Glasgow to cut emissions "a two-week long celebration of business as usual and blah, blah, blah" during the Fridays for Future march.
What did Greta Thunberg say?
"It is not a secret that COP26 is a failure," Thunberg told thousands of mainly young protesters that had gathered in the Scottish city.
"This is no longer a climate conference. This is now a global greenwashing festival."
She hit out at delegates from 200 countries who had got together to work out how to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement to limit climate change across the globe.
"They cannot ignore the scientific consensus and they cannot ignore us," said Thunberg.
"Our leaders are not leading. This is what leadership looks like," she said, pointing to the crowd.
The founder of Fridays for Future said leaders of the global north seemed to be trying to prevent any real change.
"They are actively creating loopholes and shaping frameworks to benefit themselves and to continue profiting from this destruction," she said. "We need immediate drastic annual emission cuts unlike anything the world has ever seen."
What's been achieved so far?
The COP26 started with real hope as over 100 countries committed themselves to cutting emissions by at least 30% this decade.
But environmental groups doubted the pledge, suggesting that especially richer countries often fail to live up to their promises.
She hit out at delegates from 200 countries who had got together to work out how to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement to limit climate change across the globe.
"They cannot ignore the scientific consensus and they cannot ignore us," said Thunberg.
"Our leaders are not leading. This is what leadership looks like," she said, pointing to the crowd.
The founder of Fridays for Future said leaders of the global north seemed to be trying to prevent any real change.
"They are actively creating loopholes and shaping frameworks to benefit themselves and to continue profiting from this destruction," she said. "We need immediate drastic annual emission cuts unlike anything the world has ever seen."
What's been achieved so far?
The COP26 started with real hope as over 100 countries committed themselves to cutting emissions by at least 30% this decade.
But environmental groups doubted the pledge, suggesting that especially richer countries often fail to live up to their promises.
The UN estimated that under the proposed climate action plans the earth would warm up by 2.7 degrees Celsius this century.
"Youth have brought critical urgency to the talks," Greenpeace International Executive Director Jennifer Morgan said. "They have emphasized what is at stake for young people if the gap to 1.5 C is not closed."
"World leaders are obviously scared of the truth, yet no matter how hard they try, they cannot escape it," 18-year-old Thunberg said.
"Youth have brought critical urgency to the talks," Greenpeace International Executive Director Jennifer Morgan said. "They have emphasized what is at stake for young people if the gap to 1.5 C is not closed."
"World leaders are obviously scared of the truth, yet no matter how hard they try, they cannot escape it," 18-year-old Thunberg said.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg speaks at a Fridays for Future march during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), in Glasgow, Scotland, on November 5, 2021. © Yves Herman, Reuters
Issued on: 05/11/2021 -
Text by: NEWS WIRES|
Video by: Nicholas RUSHWORTH
Video by: Nicholas RUSHWORTH
Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg on Friday branded the UN climate summit in Glasgow a “failure” during a mass protest in the Scottish city demanding swifter action from leaders to address the emergency.
Thunberg said pledges from some nations made during COP26 to accelerate their emissions cuts amounted to little more than “a two-week long celebration of business as usual and blah, blah, blah”.
“It is not a secret that COP26 is a failure,” she told the thousands of people at the protest.
“This is no longer a climate conference. This is now a global greenwashing festival.”
Delegates from nearly 200 countries are in Glasgow to hammer out how to meet the Paris Agreement goals of limiting temperature rises to between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius.
The first week of talks saw countries announce plans to phase out coal use and to end foreign fossil fuel funding, but there were few details on how they plan the mass decarbonisation scientists say is needed.
The promises followed a major assessment that showed global CO2 emissions are set to rebound in 2021 to pre-pandemic levels.
“They cannot ignore the scientific consensus and they cannot ignore us,” said Thunberg.
“Our leaders are not leading. This is what leadership looks like,” she said gesturing to the crowd.
Two days of demonstrations are planned by activist groups to highlight the disconnect between the glacial pace of emissions reductions and the climate emergency already swamping countries across the world.
Some progress
Onlookers to Friday’s march lined the streets and hung out of windows to watch the stream of protesters, who held banners reading “No Planet B” and “Climate Action Now”.
“I’m here because the world leaders are deciding the fate of our future and the present of people that have already been impacted by climate crisis,” said 18-year-old Valentina Ruas.
“We won’t accept anything that isn’t real climate policy centred on climate justice.”
Students were out in force, with some schools allowing pupils to skip lessons to see the march and one young green warrior holding a placard that read: “Climate change is worse than homework”.
Experts say a commitment made during the high-level leaders’ summit at the start of COP26 by more than 100 nations to cut methane emissions by at least 30 percent this decade will have a real short-term impact on global heating.
But environmental groups pointed out that governments, particularly wealthy polluters, have a habit of failing to live up to their promises.
Vanessa Nakate told the crowd that people in her native Uganda were “being erased” by climate change.
“People are dying, children are dropping out of school, farms are being destroyed,” she said.
“Another world is necessary. Another world is possible.”
‘Take responsibility’
Countries came into COP26 with national climate plans that, when brought together, put Earth on course to warm 2.7C this century, according to the UN.
With just 1.1C of warming so far, communities across the world are already facing ever more intense fire and drought, displacement and economic ruin wrought by the Earth’s heating climate.
“Scientists have done what they need to do, they’ve told us about the problem. Young people have done what they need to do by calling attention to this issue,” said Natalie Tariro Chido Mangondo, a Zimbabwean climate and gender advocate.
“And it’s just up to our leaders to get their act together.”
Campaigners say they expect up to 50,000 demonstrators in the Scottish city on Saturday as part of a global round of climate protests.
A spokesman from Police Scotland said there were “fewer than 20 arrests made” as of Friday night, mainly for public disorder offences.
(AFP)
No comments:
Post a Comment