Climate activists around the world are taking part in a series of global protests on Saturday, calling for real action from global leaders on the climate emergency.
The “Global Day of Action” seeks to unite climate activists and groups around a common goal: To demand that governments and corporations “deliver real and just solutions” to the climate crisis and to limit global temperatures to 1.5°C, organizers said.
Demonstrations have already kicked off in Australia where more than 1,000 protesters took to the streets in the Australian capital in protest against the government’s climate policies and their COP26 offerings, Reuters reported.
In Sydney, demonstrators marched with signs that read: “We need human change, not climate change” and “Code Red for Humanity.”
Extinction Rebellion activists in Melbourne held a “koala funeral” to mark the day, marching with a gigantic puppet of a skeletal koala and banners that read “Shame.”
Australia’s delegation went to the COP26 talks in Glasgow with the weakest climate plans of all the G20’s developed nations.
In South Korea, hundreds of people gathered in the capital, Seoul, where demonstrators marched with a large red inflatable ball to symbolize a “burning earth,” Reuters reported.’
Climate activist and protest leader Hwang In-chul told Reuters that leaders at COP26 hadn’t taken strong enough steps to mitigate the crisis and that action plans were lacklustre.
“They [COP] have had meetings from all around the world every year for 26 years, but the climate crisis has not been resolved yet. Since the climate crisis cannot be stopped with the way it is, citizens around the world are coming out to take actions for our lives, safety and future.”
South Korean President Moon Jae-in reconfirmed a commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 at COP26 this week. South Korea however, remains one of the world’s most fossil-fuel reliant economies, with coal making up over 41% of the country’s electricity mix and renewable power just over 6%, according to Reuters.
In the UK, climate activists are preparing for another day of protests after Friday’s mass demonstrations in Glasgow, where climate activist Greta Thunberg called the COP26 summit a “failure” during a large youth protest outside the climate summit’s venue.
Climate activists in Brighton, southern England were gearing up for a demonstration in the city center on Saturday, with protesters from Extinction Rebellion pushing a large float appearing to be a red oil tanker reading “Act Now,” through its streets on Saturday morning.