Climate march keeps up pressure on leaders at U.N. summit | Seattle Times

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) – Public pressure that has helped promote more global action against global warming is expected to come into its own outside of the UN climate summit on Saturday, when thousands of protesters wander the rainy gray streets of Glasgow will march to demand Leaders are moving faster to cut fossil fuels that are damaging the climate.

Police helicopters buzzed over Glasgow early Saturday as authorities prepared for a second day of protests by climate activists. Scots are used to bad weather, and despite the stiff gusts and drizzle that turned into cold rain, strong participation was expected.

In the more than 800-meter-long (kilometer-long) conference venue, negotiators have met for a seventh day in a row to finalize draft agreements that can be submitted to government ministers for political approval next week.

Among the issues haggled over by nearly 200 countries in the talks is a renewed commitment to keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) and getting countries to stop their efforts Check more frequently to pressure for deeper cuts and financial aid to poor countries.

A Democratic and Republican delegation of US Senators was due to attend the summit on Saturday. Out of the year Republican victories that unsettled members of President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party made the bipartisan visit more impactful.

At the daily side events of the summit on Saturday, British actor Idris Elba also brought his star power to the UN talks and emphasized the importance of helping smallholders cope with global warming.

Elba, known for roles like the HBO series “The Wire”, BBC Ones “Luther” and this year’s western film “The Harder the Come”, was there with Sabrina Dhowre Elba, model and producer, and his wife. They took the stage on Saturday to support the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development.

Elba said he wanted to highlight the dangers of disrupting global food chains as smallholders in particular are affected by irregular seasonal rains, droughts and other effects of climate change.

“This food discussion really needs to be stepped up and I have a big mouth,” said Elba, adding that 80% of the food consumed worldwide is produced by smallholders.

On the same podium, Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, 24, said that global warming is already starving millions of people around the world, including in her country.

She said switching from meat to a plant-based diet could help prevent millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year while freeing up more land for the food industry that is currently used for animal feed.

The march was expected to attract a range of participants and ages on Saturday after tens of thousands of young people in the Fridays for Future movement protested outside the conference’s steel fences and turnstiles on Friday.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, 18, branded previous UN climate talks in Glasgow as a “failure” at the Fridays for Future rally and accused the leaders of deliberately creating loopholes in the rules and giving misleading images of their countries’ emissions

“The heads of state and government of the world are obviously afraid of the truth, but no matter how hard they try, they cannot escape it,” said Thunberg. “They cannot ignore the scientific consensus, and most importantly, they cannot ignore us – the people, including their own children.”

Thunberg’s mix of school strikes, blunt and impatient gossip about state excuses, and mass demonstrations has sparked climate protests since 2018, particularly in Europe, but to a lesser extent around the world.

The climate protest movement and worsening droughts, storms and other catastrophes, which reminded many of the increasing damage caused by global warming, have kept pressure on governments to take stronger and faster action to reduce fossil fuel emissions.

The Fridays For Future protest was part of a series of demonstrations held around the world on Friday and Saturday to coincide with the talks in Glasgow.

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