Crowds gather in rainy Glasgow to call for climate action at COP26

A few blocks from the march, negotiations continued at the COP26 summit and on stage speakers raised alarm about the threat of global warming to food security.

Since the climate talks began, national delegations have been working to agree on the technical details of the final pact, which will be announced at the end of the conference after multiple negotiations this week.

In the first week, countries made a series of pledges to phase out coal, cut emissions of powerful methane gas, and reduce deforestation. Meanwhile, business and financial leaders pledged to invest more in climate solutions. But activists are demanding that the meeting go further.

Ros Cadoux, a grandmother from Edinburgh, said she came to march for future generations. “If you have children and grandchildren, my God, what else can you do?”

There were also colorful banners with slogans ranging from serious calls for “Climate Justice Now” to the most comical: “No Planet = No Beer.”

“The climate crisis is about the survival of humanity as we know it,” said Philipp Chmel, who traveled from Germany to the march. “It is up to the youth and the workers, the working class, to bring about the change that is necessary.”

A group of young people, some with megaphones, blamed companies for the climate crisis and chanted calls for socialism with their fists in the air. Around noon, the rain subsided for a few hours and a huge rainbow crossed the sky.

“If ever there was a time for activism, and if ever there was a time for people to take to the streets, it is today.”said Theo Lockett, a 20-year-old University of Glasgow student. Climate activists held rallies in many other cities, including Seoul, Melbourne, Copenhagen, and London.