Massive NYC march joins global call for climate change action
Marchers press for change as world leaders gather for UN summit on climate change, seen as key issue on development agenda.
22 September 2014
New York -- Over 300,000 people gathered for a march through New York City on Sunday to show solidarity for immediate action to halt the advance of global climate change.
The festive atmosphere of the march was not dampened by scattered showers under a sullen sky. People of all ages, races and backgrounds marched peacefully throughout the day to the beat of drums, waving banners and signs, calling for world leaders to act on their concerns. This march is part of a worldwide campaign to raise awareness on the lack of serious international action to address the impact of climate change on people, livelihoods and an ever-increasing environmental degradation.
On 23 September, more than 120 world leaders will attend a one-day summit at the United Nations on climate. The summit was called for by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as a way to galvanize political momentum for a new international treaty under the auspices of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
At the international community’s last meeting on climate in Copenhagen in 2009, negotiations failed to produce a binding agreement. It is hoped that the upcoming summit will be successful in moving countries closer to a global agreement on action to combat climate change culminating in a meeting in Paris by the end of 2015.
Climate change added to UN agenda
This week Secretary-General Ban, speaking at the opening of the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly, said that we must “mobilize political will for a universal and meaningful climate agreement.” Ban has added action on climate change to the UN’s agenda during this pivotal period of global efforts to defeat poverty and establish new post-2015 sustainable development goals.
The march was organized by a dozen environmental, labor and social justice groups, including the Sierra Club, Avaaz, New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, the Transport Workers Union Local 100 and 1199 S.E.I.U. In addition, more than 1,570 “partner organizations” participated in the march.
Organizers said this march was even bigger than previous ones and showed that people from all walks of life understood the risks of unabated climate change and supported the notion that our economic activities do contribute to these changes.
Among the flurry of banners and signs at the march calling for climate action, nine-year old Kai Li from New York City said she was here because “our planet needed our help.”and added, “What happens when all the trees are gone and the air is bad? I want to do something even if older people won’t.”
This new session of the UN’s General Assembly, the main deliberative body of the international body, in
addition to the Climate Summit, will also feature the first World Conference for Indigenous Peoples and nearly 300 events on a range of issues being discussed in the Post-2015 development discussions.
As part of the opening activities, the ILO and the Ford Foundation are holding a high-level event on “Employment and Decent Work for Inclusive and Sustainable Development” featuring heads of governments, ministers of development cooperation and employment, business executives and trade union leaders on 23 September.
The festive atmosphere of the march was not dampened by scattered showers under a sullen sky. People of all ages, races and backgrounds marched peacefully throughout the day to the beat of drums, waving banners and signs, calling for world leaders to act on their concerns. This march is part of a worldwide campaign to raise awareness on the lack of serious international action to address the impact of climate change on people, livelihoods and an ever-increasing environmental degradation.
On 23 September, more than 120 world leaders will attend a one-day summit at the United Nations on climate. The summit was called for by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as a way to galvanize political momentum for a new international treaty under the auspices of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
At the international community’s last meeting on climate in Copenhagen in 2009, negotiations failed to produce a binding agreement. It is hoped that the upcoming summit will be successful in moving countries closer to a global agreement on action to combat climate change culminating in a meeting in Paris by the end of 2015.
Climate change added to UN agenda
This week Secretary-General Ban, speaking at the opening of the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly, said that we must “mobilize political will for a universal and meaningful climate agreement.” Ban has added action on climate change to the UN’s agenda during this pivotal period of global efforts to defeat poverty and establish new post-2015 sustainable development goals.
The march was organized by a dozen environmental, labor and social justice groups, including the Sierra Club, Avaaz, New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, the Transport Workers Union Local 100 and 1199 S.E.I.U. In addition, more than 1,570 “partner organizations” participated in the march.
Organizers said this march was even bigger than previous ones and showed that people from all walks of life understood the risks of unabated climate change and supported the notion that our economic activities do contribute to these changes.
Among the flurry of banners and signs at the march calling for climate action, nine-year old Kai Li from New York City said she was here because “our planet needed our help.”and added, “What happens when all the trees are gone and the air is bad? I want to do something even if older people won’t.”
This new session of the UN’s General Assembly, the main deliberative body of the international body, in
addition to the Climate Summit, will also feature the first World Conference for Indigenous Peoples and nearly 300 events on a range of issues being discussed in the Post-2015 development discussions.
As part of the opening activities, the ILO and the Ford Foundation are holding a high-level event on “Employment and Decent Work for Inclusive and Sustainable Development” featuring heads of governments, ministers of development cooperation and employment, business executives and trade union leaders on 23 September.