Updated 3 hours ago
Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg called the UN climate summit in Glasgow a «failure» after a week of negotiations that resulted in what some experts called vague promises of emissions cuts.
«It’s no secret that COP26 is a failure,» Thunberg told thousands of young protesters marching in the Scottish city today.
She described the COP26 talks as «a two-week celebration of business as usual and such and such and such.»
Thunberg, fellow activist Vanessa Nakati and other youth activists, as well as local unionists, spoke to the crowds at the end of the rally this afternoon.
The climate strike, organized by Fridays for Future Scotland, began at 11am with participants marching from Kelvingrove Park to George Square.
This came as the COP26 talks feature events highlighting the voice of youth and education in climate action.
Greta Thunberg is somewhere in the middle of this massive crowd of thousands passing through Glasgow this afternoon pic.twitter.com/fOvO2r67BD
– Orla Dwyer (@orladwyer_) November 5, 2021
At least 8,000 people participated in the march. A number of Irish made the trip to Scotland to attend this event.
Talking to the magazine At the previous rally, Irish teen Flocy Donnelly said she is in Glasgow because she believes this COP is «the last chance to turn this around so that future generations don’t view us as evildoers».
She added: «It feels really powerful to be here, knowing that so many people are here for the same reason – to stop climate change and have a better future.»
Flocy Donnelly is also here from Ireland. She is here in Glasgow because she believes this COP is «the last chance to change this situation so that future generations will not see us as evildoers.» pic.twitter.com/oqgTOOp8ul
– Orla Dwyer (@orladwyer_) November 5, 2021
Ciara Cullen, from Clare Island in Ko Mayo, takes part in the walk with her partner and children. Travel to Glasgow by public transport and ferry.
I told the magazine She’s been participating in protests and climate activism «for as long as I can remember.»
Colin said the «green wash» in COP26 was «really intense and I think it gets worse in a certain way.»
“Because when you hear the speeches of politicians, it’s like ‘Yes, this will be resolved’…but in reality, the kind of deals that are being made in terms of geoengineering, these technological reforms will work.
«They won’t work. They haven’t been invented yet, but the same thinking has caused the problem that they are being used. So I think the people on the streets are the only thing we have left. So I’m not necessarily optimistic, but that’s what you have to do.»
Dr Anna Rakovac, Consultant Chemical Pathologist at Tallaght University Hospital tells me why she is here from Ireland pic.twitter.com/MMqZJeZhZa
– Orla Dwyer (@orladwyer_) November 5, 2021
The march was also attended by a number of Irish doctors and consultants, traveling by ferry to Glasgow, to highlight the interconnection between health and climate change.
Dr. Anna Rakovac, Consultant Chemical Pathologist at Tallaght University Hospital, said: the magazine: “The reason we are here today is that the climate crisis is a health crisis and it is already happening.
We want to draw attention to the fact that without a healthy planet there is no healthy population. This is our message, we want it to resonate in our government.”
She added that decarbonization of health care should happen immediately, not in the future.
More protests tomorrow
Today’s protest came ahead of Saturday’s rallies where tens of thousands of people are expected in Glasgow, with other rallies in London and cities across the UK, as well as around the world.
The protests come at the end of the first week of the conference, as countries come under pressure to increase ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that lead to climate change, avoid the worst effects of global warming, and to secure funding for poorer countries. Handling the crisis.
Earlier in the week, about 120 world leaders gathered at the Cop26 summit to outline the actions they were taking to tackle the climate crisis.
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There have also been announcements of reducing deforestation, phasing out coal, and promoting financial flows toward transformational economies to go green.
But Shadow Business Secretary Ed Miliband warned against «goal shifting» to focus on long-term targets and vague declarations across sectors rather than urgent action by countries to cut emissions to get the world on track to limit warming to 1.5°C.
At last night’s event, US Special Presidential Climate Envoy John Kerry said the COP26 summit is a «crucial» event that he called «the last best hope in the world to put us on the right track.»
Speaking at a CBI dinner, he called on developed countries to help less developed countries fight climate change and warned that trillions of dollars in private financing were needed «because no government in the world has enough money» to deal with climate change.
With Orla Dwyer reporting in Glasgow, the press agency and © AFP 2021
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