Thousands of people have demanded this Saturday climate and social justice on the shores of the COP26 in Glasgow, on the eve of the UN summit entering its final stretch in search of a pact that prevents temperatures from rising more than 1.5 ºC at the end of the century.
«Here we are all marching not only for ourselves: for the animals, for the plant world, for everything spiritual. The stars accompany this path today. There are no borders, there are no religions, there are no colors. We are all one big family, the human family ”, declared the Chilean Mapuche Calfín Lafkenche at the start of the march.
Under heavy rain with blows of wind that was shifting during the day, up to 100,000 people, according to the groups organizing the Global Climate Justice Day , a figure not confirmed by the police, have participated in the march.
The protest started in Kelvingrove Park at 12:00 local time GMT), in the vicinity of the venue where COP26 is being held, and has crossed Glasgow to finish in the park of Glasgow Green. At the same time, climate activism had called on Saturday replicas of the protest in 200 parts of the world , from Seoul to Rio de Janeiro, passing through Manila, Mexico City, Lisbon, Los Angeles or Nairobi.
Between bagpipes, trumpets and batucadas, but also umbrellas and sanitary masks, the great climate march has taken place in a festive and family atmosphere with an alter-world aroma and messages against capitalism, the consumption of meat, nuclear energy or in favor of refugees politicians.
The organizers wanted to give prominence to “indigenous peoples”, as a global symbol of climate activism. «Indigenismo is the climate. Indigenous peoples are nature, they are spaces, which we protect that everyone breathes. There is no other alternative. We are nature. We are having a little recognition but there is still a long way to go ».
“Surely the dinosaurs also thought they had time left”, “Enough of excuses”, “We can’t drink money” , “There is no planet B” or “Let’s save our future” are some of the slogans that have been seen in the great COP26 social mobilization between Scottish, Tibetan or Palestinian flags where the messages have transcended environmentalism and claimed from social equity to peace in Sudan.
According to the latest United Nations report updated with the new commitments of 14 countries, global CO2 emissions are on track to grow by 13.7% by 2030 compared to 2010 instead of falling by 50% as they should if the goal is to be maintained 1.5 ° C.
This same week, the scientific organization Global Carbon Budget pointed out that carbon dioxide emissions will rebound in 2021 near the levels prior to the coronavirus pandemic, after experiencing a decrease of 5.4% in 2020.
