Tens of thousands of protestors marched through the streets of Glasgow as world leaders in the Scottish city discuss efforts to curb climate change.
Organizers from the COP26 Coalition estimated 100,000 people took to the streets on Saturday afternoon, according to the BBC, despite ongoing rain and strong winds.
It was the second day of demonstrations by environmentalists, after 25,000 joined a student-led rally on Friday.
“Today the people who have been locked out of this climate summit had their voices heard,” coalition spokesperson Asad Rehman said in a statement, The Washington Post reported. “Those voices will be ringing in the ears of world leaders as we enter the second week of negotiations.”
Under consideration at the United Nations’ annual Climate Change Conference, or COP26: a goal of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, above pre-industrial levels and offering more financial aid for poorer countries.
Earlier this morning, police helicopters flew over the city as a dozen members of the radical group Extinction Rebellion chained themselves to a bridge and stopped traffic.
Later, the “People’s March” made its way east from Kelvingrove Park to Glasgow Green for a rally with speakers including Greta Thunberg and Vanessa Nakate.
The ongoing protests have attracted a diverse coalition of groups demanding swifter and more drastic measures to protect the environment, as well as representatives from other causes, including Black Lives Matter, trade unions, pro-Palestinian groups, and even the Scottish Independence movement.
Today’s so-called Global Day of Action saw similar demonstrations around the world, including in London, Chicago, Seoul, Manila, and Sydney.
