Hundreds of Thousands March for Climate in Record-Breaking Day of Action

The day before the start of the U.N. climate talks in Paris, some 785,000 people joined climate marches in 175 countries across the globe in what organizers are calling the largest climate marches in history.

“Across five continents, people have taken to the streets to demand that we change the way we power our world,” Kumi Naidoo, executive director of Greenpeace, said in a statement.  “In towns and cities across the globe, people have called for political leadership on climate change.”

More than 2,000 events took place on Sunday in cities like London, Sydney, Mexico City, and Vancouver.  According to the BBC, marches also took place across the equator in Kenya, across a glacier in Chile, and throughout the Marshall Islands, a South Pacific island country threatened by rising sea levels.  Ten countries broke records for all-time largest individual climate marches, with Australia and India leading the pack with some 140,000 participants each.  In terms of individual events, Melbourne and London claimed the largest marches, with 60,000 and 50,000 participants each.  By contrast, last year’s People’s Climate March in New York drew some 400,000 participants.

“As someone from Kenya, a country which is feeling the impact of climate change, it means a lot to see people from all walks of life, of every color and creed, speaking with one voice about climate change,” Mohamed Adow, senior climate adviser for Christian Aid, said in a statement. “Today’s act of solidarity is on an unprecedented global scale.  The numbers of marchers in places not known for climate change activism shows the scale of the international demand for political action.”

The heart of the global day of action was intended to be Paris, where an official march was expected to draw some 200,000 participants.  That official event was canceled, however, in the wake of the deadly November 13 terrorist attacks that killed 130.  Instead, activists placed 22,000 empty shoes outside of the Place de la République.  Meant to symbolize those who could not march, the shoes included a pair of black shoes sent by Pope Francis and a pair of running shoes from U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

In addition to the shoes, 10,000 activists held hands to form a 1.9-mile human chain along the intended march route, from the Place de la République to the Place de la Nation.  According to Grist, the human chain drew a diverse group of activists, from youth to indigenous people, who held signs and banners during the peaceful demonstration.

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