Hundreds hit Brazilian streets calling for ‘action’ at COP30
Climate-justice activists march while holding banners as part of nationwide protests, calling for stronger global climate action during the ongoing UN COP30, in Manchester, Britain. Reuters
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Some wore black dresses to signify a funeral for fossil fuels. Hundreds wore red shirts, symbolising the blood of colleagues fighting to protect the environment. And others chanted, waved huge flags or held up signs on Saturday in what's traditionally the biggest day of protest at the halfway point of annual United Nations climate talks.
Organisers with booming sound systems on trucks with raised platforms directed protesters from a wide range of environmental and social movements. Marisol Garcia, a Kichwa woman from Peru marching at the head of one group, said protesters are there to put pressure on world leaders to make “more humanised decisions.”
Vitoria Balbina, a regional coordinator for the Interstate Movement of Coconut Breakers of Babaçu, marched with a group of mostly women wearing domed hats made with fronds of the Babaçu palm.
They were calling for more access to the trees on private property that provide not only their livelihoods but also a deep cultural significance. She said marching was not only about fighting and resistance on a climate and environment front, but also about “a way of life”.
The demonstrators planned to walk about 4 km (about 2.5 miles) on a route that will take them near the main venue for the talks, known as COP30.
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