Tens of thousands of activists walked through Manhattan, warning that climate change is destroying the Earth — in stride with demonstrators around the world who urged policymakers to take quick action.
Most came on foot for the march on Sunday, others with bicycles and walkers, and some in wheelchairs. Many wore costumes and marched to drumbeats. One woman played the accordion.
Their message was not entertaining: “We’re going to lose our planet in the next generation if things continue this way,” Bert Garskof, 81, said as a family member pushed his wheelchair through Times Square.
Photo: Reuters
He had first heard about global warming in 1967, “when no one was paying much attention,” Garskof said, a native New Yorker and professor of psychology at Connecticut’s Quinnipiac University.
Organizers said more than 300,000 marched in New York, including actors Mark Ruffalo and Evangeline Lilly. They were joined in midtown Manhattan by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former US vice president Al Gore and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Today, more than 120 world leaders are to convene for a UN climate summit aimed at galvanizing political will for a new global climate treaty by the end of next year.
Photo: Reuters
“I am overwhelmed by such a strong power, energy and voice of people,” Ban told reporters. “I hope this voice will be truly reflected to the leaders when they meet on Sept. 23rd. Climate change is [a] defining issue of our time and there is no time to lose. If we do not take action now, we will have to pay much more.”
“My sense is the energy you see on the streets, the numbers that have amassed here and in other cities around the world, show that something bigger is going on, and this UN summit will be one of the ones where we look back and say it was a difference-maker,” De Blasio said.
The New York march was one of a series of events held around the world to raise awareness about climate change.
In London, organizers said about 40,000 marchers participated, while a small gathering in Cairo featured a huge art piece representing wind and solar energy. In Rio de Janeiro, marchers with green hearts painted on their faces rallied at Ipanema Beach.
Celebrities in London including actress Emma Thompson and musician Peter Gabriel joined thousands of people crossing the capital’s center, chanting: “What do we want? Clean energy. When do we want it? Now.”
“This is important for every single person on the planet, which is why it has to be the greatest grassroots movement of all time,” Thompson said.
“This is the battle of our lives. We are fighting for our children,” she said.
In New York, a contingent came from Moore, Oklahoma, where a massive tornado killed 24 people last year, as did hundreds of people affected by Hurricane Sandy, which the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the British meteorological office said was made more likely by climate change.
In Australia, the largest rally was in Melbourne, where an estimated 10,000 people took to the streets with banners and placards calling on their government to do more to combat global warming.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott was a particular target of the protesters in major cities. Abbott’s center-right coalition has removed a carbon tax and has restricted funding for climate change bodies since coming to power last year.
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