Thousands of people participate in demonstrations to show support for climate change

This weekend, demonstrations took place in over 90 countries around the world to call attention to the urgent need to combat climate change. These “Raise for Climate” protests were planned in the hopes of inciting political action and progressive climate change policies among governments from all countries.

The biggest demonstration took place in Paris where it is estimated that around 18,000 people marched to show support for measures to globally address climate change. The demonstrations occurred on Saturday in advance of the Global Climate Action Summit that will be taking place in San Francisco this week.

The goal of the summit is to bring together individuals, organisations, companies and countries to discuss climate change and to act as a launch pad for creating “deeper worldwide commitments” that will put the world back on track to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.

As the discussion around climate change continues to dominate the political sphere, people around the world are unhappy with the lack of action taken by policy makers to address this global concern. Environmental groups said they organised hundreds of events around the globe on Saturday to highlight the issue.

Miya Yoshitani, executive director of the Asian Pacific Environment Network attended a rally in San Francisco, California on Saturday. When asked about the demonstration she said, “We’re sending a message to the elected officials and corporate executives gathering for the summit next week that we need equitable, community-led solutions, not profit-driven approaches like cap-and-trade that allow big polluters to buy and sell our right to clean air and a stable climate.”

It is expected that the demonstrations will continue this week leading up to the summit. Whether people are embracing the theme “Rise for Climate” or “Change the system, but don’t change the climate,” as was the theme in Paris, it is clear that public concern regarding climate change continues to be at the forefront of discussion.

Because as one sign from the demonstrations put it, “There is no Planet B”.

The AIDF Global Summit will return to Washington D.C, in 2019.

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Photo Credit: picture - alliance /Zuma Press / S. Souici