Thousands of people march through Brussels to demand climate justice | Climate change news



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Tens of thousands of people are mobilizing to demand bolder action in the fight against climate change a few weeks before the United Nations climate summit.

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Brussels to demand bolder action in the fight against climate change at the United Nations climate summit which begins later this month.

Dressed as endangered fish or tigers or wearing toy polar bears on their heads, protesters took to the streets of the Belgian capital on Sunday, chanting slogans demanding climate justice and waving banners in several languages.

“Politicians are dying of old age, Rosa died of climate change,” said a banner referring to a 15-year-old who was swept away by the Ourthe in Belgium in July, when Europe was battered by days torrential rain and flooding.

Rosa, 15, was one of the victims of climate change as Europe was battered by torrential rains this summer [Yves Herman/Reuters]

Thousands of people representing more than 80 organizations took part in the protest, the largest such event in the de facto capital of the European Union since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Police estimated at least 25,000 marchers, while organizers put the number at 70,000.

“After seeing all the disasters we’ve seen this summer, it’s really crucial that we move on now. Because everyone knows what the problem is, ”Xavier De Wannemaeker, a protester for the local environmental movement Extinction Rebellion, told the Associated Press news agency.

Another protester, Lucien Dewanaga, asked: “What do we do when we destroy the planet? We have nothing else. Human beings must live in this world. And there is only one world.

Environmentalists fear that the 26th UN Conference of the Parties on Climate Change, commonly known as COP26, will formulate policies that won’t go far enough to significantly reduce carbon emissions and slow global warming.

The 12-day summit, set to begin in Glasgow, Scotland on October 31, will seek more ambitious commitments to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial levels .

Police estimated at least 25,000 marchers, while organizers placed the number at 70,000 [Yves Herman/Reuters]

Young people play a central role in pressuring politicians to make commitments before COP26. Young climate activists, including 18-year-old Greta Thunberg, attended a three-day Youth4Climate conference in Italy from September 28-30 to present their proposals.

Hundreds of young people taken away by Swedish activist parade in Milan earlier this month hoping their demands will be heard, including phasing out the fossil fuel industry by 2030.

Ever since Thunberg slammed climate ministers on the first day of the youth climate summit, criticizing their inaction and empty talk, “blah, blah, blah” has become a rallying cry for climate justice activists on the social networks.



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