Hundreds take to streets as part of a climate protest
Activists gather in city centre for Global Day of Action for Climate Justice
HUNDREDS of climate change campaigners have marched through Manchester city centre.
Activists from different campaign groups gathered in St Peter’s Square as part of the Global Day of Action for Climate Justice.
They held speeches as part of the demonstration before hundreds marched through the city centre holding placards and banners and waving flags.
One placard said ‘Liar, Liar, Earth On Fire’ while another read ‘Climate Justice = Hope.’
Pictures showed campaigners walking along the Metrolink tracks in St Peter’s Square.
The M.E.N. understands that trams were held up for a short amount of time.
Some buses were also held up by the protest, with Stagecoach tweeting that some services had to be ‘diverted and curtailed’ as the situation unfolded.
Traffic was slow around the city centre as protesters marched down some main roads, according to traffic alert service Inrix.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: “Police were aware of a demonstration which took place at St Peter’s Square in Manchester earlier
Police were aware of a demonstration which took place in St Peter’s Square, Manchester Police spokesman
today (Saturday). “Officers attended to maintain safety while facilitating the right to peaceful protest. “The protest has since concluded.”
The protest was one of many taking place across the UK yesterday, including a huge march outside the
COP26 climate conference in Glasgow. Thousands joined a procession outside the summit, where world leaders are meeting in a bid to increase ambition on cutting greenhouse gas emission, amid a significant police presence.
In London, hundreds of protesters gathered at the Bank of England for the start of a march through the city.
They were seen banging steel drums, chanting ‘one solution’ and waving Extinction Rebellion banners reading ‘tell the truth.’
Thousands of youth activists, including Greta Thunberg and Vanessa Nakate, also marched through Glasgow on Friday protesting against investment in fossil fuels and failure to tackle the climate crisis.
Ms Thunberg called the COP26 conference a ‘two-week long celebration of business as usual and blah blah blah.’