Extinction Rebellion march through Edinburgh
Extinction Rebellion activists marched through Edinburgh yesterday in solidarity with protests taking place across the world during the Cop26 climate summit.
The demonstrators walked down George IV Bridge, Bank Street, North Bank Street, Market Street, Jeffrey Street and Canongate to reach the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood at about 1pm for a rally.
Mike Grant, 61, from Rosewell, Midlothian, said: “I am marching today to make clear to those gathering for Cop26 that the people demand far bolder and far faster action now. Every fraction of a degree avoided is a life, a town, a species saved somewhere in the world.
“Our children's children deserve nothing less from a generation that did so much to cause the problem.”
Another activist from Edinburgh who works in social care said: “I'm an ordinary person and have never thought of myself as an activist, but this will take every one of us, on the streets, demanding that our governments treat this like the emergency it is. If you have children, if you know children, the future looks terrifying, but the worst can be averted if our leaders act decisively now."
Thousands of activists have also gathered at the summit in Glasgow this weekend to make their concerns known to the world leaders around the negotiating table.
Some protesters started making their voices heard around noon on Saturday, including members of Ocean Rebellion who led a "dead merpeoples" demonstration, with activists lying still entangled in netting and litter near the Clyde in Glasgow to raise awareness of marine life loss.
Members of Extinction Rebellion (XR) Faith, artists and other pilgrimage groups who have walked thousands of miles to Glasgow joined each other in a procession through the city centre on Saturday.
The event was said to be an "opening ceremony" to a series of non-violent direct actions being planned in Glasgow, around the UK and the world during the convention.
On Friday, Ocean Rebellion activists poured ‘oil’ in front of Glasgow's Cop26 venue. Another four XR protesters locked themselves to the Memorial Gates at the University of Glasgow.