Global climate march 2015: hundreds of thousands march around the world – as it happened

Here’s a great gallery of events around the world today, put together by my colleague Eric Hilaire:

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who has previously called for people to divest from fossil fuel companies, has issued a statement calling on world leaders in Paris to act on climate change before it’s too late. Here’s an excerpt:

It is an opportunity to address inequality; for powerful people and nations to acknowledge that their environmental wellbeing, their security and sustainability, is dependent on the wellbeing, security and sustainability of others. To acknowledge our inter-dependence, and the strengths and vulnerabilities we share.

If we “carry on as usual”, there may not be another opportunity.

The days of not understanding the disastrous human and environmental consequences of rampant consumerism and greed are gone. Our leaders can no longer claim not to know. If they don’t take action they will be saying very clearly that they don’t care.

Should they grasp the opportunity, and develop a legally binding treaty to mitigate climate change, it will signal the end of the age of reckless consumption, exploitation and greed.

But failing to grasp the nettle will send a direct message of contempt to poorer nations and people, who cannot afford the costs of mitigating the impacts of increasing temperatures. It will trigger unprecedented economic and refugee crises, and dramatically deepen global insecurity.

It’s a simple equation, really. Agree on mechanisms to enforce adherence to environmental justice, or consciously embrace injustice and add fuel to the fire of human division and pain.

We know that the only answer is to reduce carbon emissions, and the only way we can do that is by reducing our dependency on carbon fuels.

29 Nov 201510.53 EST

Emma Howard

I’ve been talking with actor and Greenpeace supporter Emma Thompson. “Unfortunately we live in a world which is absolutely in the pockets of fossil fuel companies,” she said as we walked through London. Here are some brief clips of the interview:

Organisers are saying more than 50,000 people have turned out for a march in the UK capital. That’s far more than attended the London ‘Wave’ march in 2009, before the Copenhagen climate summit, and the 27,000 at last year’s London climate march.

Alex Wilks, campaign director at Avaaz, said: “This is the biggest climate march in British history with over 50,000 people marching today in London and thousands more in other cities across Britain. Our footsteps are echoing around the world alongside hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets calling for a transition to 100% clean energy.”

A Met Police spokeswoman told me they would not be commenting on numbers on the march.

Campaign group Avaaz said 20,000 people had marched in Rome.

29 Nov 201510.39 EST

Emma Howard

Asad Rehman, a fixture at previous climate talks and Friends of the Earth’s senior international climate campaigner, tells the London march:

There is something deeply wrong with our world...the great injustice is that those who are least response for our crisis have to deal with its impacts. We live with a broken economic system that says that black lives don’t matter, poor lives don’t matter....

And it’s people power that is going to defeat this climate crisis. We have the solutions but we just have politicians who lack the political will.

Here are a group of Sámi, an indigenous people in Sweden who say their way of life is threatened by climate change, singing on the stage in London. Footage by James Randerson.

Speaking in London, Friends of the Earth’s new CEO, Craig Bennett, says:

This is a fantastic display of people power with thousands upon thousands taking to the streets to demand urgent action on climate change.

From Australia to Mozambique and the Philippines, as well as here in London, millions of our fellow citizens are urging our leaders to stand up to the global crisis of more floods, storms, droughts and rising seas.

We know the challenge we face, we know the solutions: now is the time to act.

Meanwhile in London, marchers have reached parliament, where a second round of speeches is taking place. Here is the (slightly blurry) view from the stage:

29 Nov 201509.49 EST

Karl Mathiesen

I’m now stuck in a corner of the plaza surrounded by hundreds of police and a few hundred protesters who have been systematically pushed back. No one can get in or out.

The day of action in Paris has completely disintegrated into a stand off between groups of anarchist protesters and riot police. The large crowd who showed up to campaign for a positive outcome at COP21 left long ago.

Police moved into la place de la Republique and kettling those left. About 500 anarchists, including many from the “Black Bloc”, are pelting police with glass bottles. Police responding with flash-bang bombs and tear gas.

29 Nov 201509.37 EST

Tear gas in Paris

Kim Willsher

An unauthorised demonstration at Place de la Republique degenerated into violence on Sunday afternoon. Hundreds of riot police sealed off the whole square and the roads around as clashes broke out with protestors.

The protesters began by throwing missiles at police. There were several very large explosions, thought to be fireworks. Police began using tear gas to clear the area that has been a symbolic place of gathering since the Friday 13 November attacks in Paris.

Police have now cleared the square. Still a helicopter overhead and sirens. Many of the flowers and candles left in tribute to the 130 people who died in the attacks have been trampled on and destroyed.