Cecelia Anim, president of the Royal College of Nursing, tells me:
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges we face. If it goes unchecked climate changewill be devastating for human health and will put a huge strain on our health system. Every healthcare professional has a duty to raise awareness of climate change. Health professionals must lead the way.
In Paris a group of socialist activists who have been circling La Place de la Republique have confronted police at one of the exits of the famous roundabout. Tear gas and batons are being used to push them back.
It appears to be a high jacking of the climate march by those with another agenda. “It is more to against capitalism [than a call for climate action],” said one.
Police just set off large bangs to deter the crowd. Which incensed them because of the resemblance to bombs.
Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood is in London; she said:
It looks great. We are the people. Politicians are criminals. They are trapped in the rotten financial system which is the cause of poverty war and climate change....Politicians just talk about how they are going to deal with it....How are they going to deal with what will be absolute horror? These idiots accept it. We need to stop it! There is no choice between the green economy and mass extinction.
All parties were invited to speak in London but the Conservative party did not provide anyone. Lynne Featherstone is here from the Liberal Democrats. “We never find enough words to convey the cataclysm ahead. Unless we mitigate and adapt, the world will be in the greatest trouble we have ever seen,” she said. Caroline Lucas is there for the Greens and Corbyn for Labour.
The wind is blowing hard, the rain is coming down but still the people have come to London in their thousands. People have travelled here from Wales, Scotland and fracking communities in Lancashire who are standing right at the front. One group from Brighton travelled here on a bus powered by chip fat, according to organisers. There are people from the Sápmi indigenous community in Sweden, where the melting arctic is having a big impact on their daily lives.
The Press Association is reporting that tens of thousands of people have gathered in central London for the march. I’ll update you on numbers later, based on what organisers and police say.
The march in London is attracting some big crowds, colourful outfits and famous faces (I’ve seen at least one Instagrammed selfie with musician Peter Gabriel. Actor Emma Thompson and singer/activist Charlotte Church are also out there somewhere). Emma Howard is on the ground for the Guardian and will be reporting live throughout the day.
Addressing inequality essential for tackling climate change, Corbyn to say
Here’s an excerpt of what Corbyn is expected to say in around half an hour’s time:
The greener world I know is possible is a more just, a more equal, and a more productive world
To tackle climate change, we must tackle global inequality, we must show that defeating the menace of global warming will not only improve the prospects of our children and grandchildren, but will improve lives here and now
Britain should be at the forefront of that argument, leading global efforts to a political solution to climate change at the Paris conference.
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