SYDNEY: Tens of thousands marched across Australia yesterday on a third day of worldwide rallies as pressure mounts on global leaders to strike a pact on cutting greenhouse gases at crucial talks in still-shaken Paris.
Some 150 leaders, including US President Barack Obama, China’s Xi Jinping, India’s Narendra Modi and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, are attending the start today of the UN conference, hoping to reach the first truly universal climate pact.
The goal is to limit average global warming to 2C, perhaps less, over pre-Industrial Revolution levels by curbing fossil fuel emissions blamed for climate change.
Rallies demanding curbs to carbon pollution have been growing since Friday, with marches across Australia yesterday kickstarting a final day of protests.
Similar events were planned for Rio de Janeiro, New York and Mexico City, while 1,000 braved rain in Seoul, with scientists warning of superstorms, drought and rising sea levels swamping vast areas if concrete action is not taken.
“There is no Planet B,” said one placard in Sydney where 45,000 people converged, while another read: “Solidarity on a global scale”.
“There’s nothing more important that I can be doing at the moment than addressing climate change,” said Kate Charlesworth, a doctor and Sydney mother.