Thousands take to streets to highlight 'climate emergency'

A large group of protesters marches down a street holding a wide black banner that reads “Scotland’s Climate March” and “A Better World Is Possible” in bold coloured letters. People at the front appear to be chanting, while others behind them hold signs with messages such as “Climate Crisis = Class War,” “Planet Over Profit,” and a peace symbol. The crowd is tightly packed, and buildings line the street in the background.Reuters

Demonstrators marched through Glasgow before a rally was held on Glasgow Green

Benjamin Russell

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Glasgow to protest against climate change.

Demonstrators marched through the city centre on a day of global action to coincide with the COP30 climate talks in Brazil.

Organisers Friends Of The Earth Scotland said it was the biggest climate march in Glasgow since COP26 was held in the city in 2021.

Speakers at a rally on Glasgow Green afterwards included STUC deputy secretary Dave Moxham and Poverty Alliance chief executive Peter Kelly.

A group of climate protesters march down a city street holding handmade signs. At the front, a woman wearing glasses smiles while holding a cardboard sign that reads “Go Vegan for the Planet!” with a drawing of the Earth. Beside her, another protester holds a sign saying “You cannot eat money.” Behind them, more people carry banners and placards with messages such as “Change your diet, not the climate” and “No future without nature.” The crowd appears peaceful and engaged, with buildings lining the street in the background.Reuters

Demonstrators gathered on Glasgow Green before marching through the city centre

Caroline Rance, Friends of the Earth Scotland's head of campaigns, said the turnout showed a growing desire for urgent climate action.

She added: "People came out in huge numbers to demand that better world we know is possible.

"There is energy and enthusiasm to make transformative change happen, all it requires is the political will."

Ms Rance said public concern about the climate emergency remained "really high".

A large crowd of protesters marches down a city street. At the centre, a woman wearing a hat stands on someone’s shoulders and holds a sign above her head that reads, “There’s no wealth on a dead planet.” People around her carry flags and placards with various climate-justice messages. The street is busy with demonstrators, some in bright pink steward vests, and shops and buildings line the background.PA Media

Friends of the Earth Scotland said it was the biggest climate march in Glasgow since COP26

She continued: "People recognise that the challenges our communities face, from Palestine to the Amazon, are deeply connected."

Ms Rance also highlighted positive climate action measures such as insulating homes and improving the country's bus services.

Nick Cullen, of the Climate and Migrant Justice Organising Group, said the demonstration reflected a shared struggle across movements.

He added: "We joined this march because we must stand together against the deepening hostile environment, far right violence, and the erosion of climate action.

"Today showed that in these challenging times, our communities are stronger and more powerful when we come together."

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A banner at the front of the procession declared "a better world is possible" as it set off through the city.

Extinction Rebellion supporters brought along a mobile sound system, while a choir performed reworked Christmas carols.

They adapted the lyrics to voice opposition to the Rosebank oil field, located west of the Shetland Isles.

A group of children also chanted "Stop Rosebank, the planet is for everyone" - in reference to the UK's largest undeveloped oil field - as they moved through the city centre.

One activist wore a Donald Trump mask and held a sign that read: "It's capitalism, ya eejits".

The Climate and Migrant Justice Organising Group and the Gaza Genocide Emergency Committee were among the groups taking part.

Palestinian flags also were visible throughout the march in a show of solidarity with people in Gaza.

A wide overhead view of a large climate march filling a city street in Glasgow. Hundreds of people carry banners, placards and flags, including a large front banner reading “A Better World Is Possible.” Many signs reference climate justice, Gaza, and environmental protection. Police officers line the route, and tall buildings rise on both sides of the street as the crowd stretches far into the distance.PA Media

Several groups took part in the protest, including the Climate and Migrant Justice Organising Group and the Gaza Genocide Emergency Committee.

John Hilley, of the Gaza Genocide Emergency Committee in Glasgow, said the fights for human rights and environmental protection were inseparable.

He added: "We must act together and with urgency against the same corporate and political forces behind those existential threats."

The war in Gaza was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

Since then, more than 69,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures the UN considers reliable.

'There is no planet B'

A man with short curly light-brown hair and a beard stands outdoors in a park. He is wearing a dark scarf and a jacket with an orange lining. Trees and people are blurred in the background.

Martin Canavan wanted to be part of the "collective voice calling for change"

Martin Canavan was at the protest with his daughter, Ailsa.

He told BBC Scotland News they wanted to take part because "urgent action" was needed to tackle the "climate emergency".

"We need to make sure we are doing everything we can to improve the lives of people who are furthest away from power," he said.

"We want to make sure we can be part of the collective voice calling for change."

Ailsa, nine, said she wanted to come to the protest "because there is no planet B".

She added: "I want us to be able to live and have a happy life without any gas or anything."

A child wearing a furry hat, glasses, and a butterfly-patterned coat stands in a park holding a handmade cardboard sign that reads “Save Our Planet!” People and trees are blurred in the background.

Ailsa joined the protest because she wants people to have a "happy life"

Ailsa, nine, said she wanted to come to the protest "because there is no planet B".

She added: "I want us to be able to live and have a happy life without any gas or anything."

'We're not seeing the change we need'

A young woman with long dark hair smiles at the camera while standing in a sunlit park. She is wearing a grey leather jacket over a light turtleneck. People and trees are blurred in the background.

Anna Brown said she had concerns about the future

Anna Brown was also among those protesting and said that she didn't feel politicians were doing enough to act on the issue of climate change.

She said: "It says something that we're on COP30 - if something is working, why do we need it for 30 years?

"Why does the process continue to fail us nationally, internationally and locally?

"We're not seeing the change we need and people are continuing to suffer."

Ms Brown added that her biggest worry was thinking about the future.

"People ask 'what are you going to do? But that's so hard to plan for when you look around and realistically by 2050 the Clyde will be flooding and our energy bills go up everyday.

"Even as a uni student I worked three jobs and we shouldn't have to do that but that's the only way we can afford to live.

"And that's not just for young people, that's for everyone.

"Climate action comes into that because, yet again, it is the big corporations and billionaires who continue to make money that are taking it away from the people who need it."

What is COP30?

Delegates from almost 200 countries are attending COP30 talks in Belém, Brazil.

It takes place 10 years after the Paris climate agreement, in which countries pledged to try to restrict the rise in global temperatures to 1.5C.

However, the head of the United Nations (UN) said "overshooting" 1.5C is now inevitable - and many world leaders are absent from the talks.

COP30 is the 30th annual UN climate meeting and comes four years after Glasgow hosted COP26.

COP stands for "Conference of the Parties". "Parties" refers to the nearly 200 countries that have signed up to the original UN climate agreement of 1992.

It officially started on Monday 10 November and will run until Friday 21 November.

However, the talks often overrun because of last-minute negotiations to secure a deal.

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