Environmental activists in Asia literally beat the drum on Saturday to pressure world leaders to reach a deal at the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen to combat global warming.
A week of talks among 192 countries has produced a draft agreement on climate change, but without firm figures on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
“There’s not much time left for us to save our climate,” said Liu Shuang, an officer with Greenpeace China, as traditional drummers kept up a steady beat in front of an ancient Beijing gate with about 200 people looking on.
Negotiations are expected to intensify as world leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, arrive in Denmark in the coming days.
In Australia, thousands of people marched in a “Walk Against Warming” rally in major cities to demand action in Copenhagen.
In Taiwan, more than 100 people gathered at the Taipei train station to stand or sit motionless for five minutes. About 200 Filipino activists staged a festive rally in Manila to mark the Global Day of Action on climate change.
Dozens of Indonesian environmental activists rallied in front of the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, while Padi, a popular Indonesian music group, belted out green-themed tunes from atop a car. They unfurled banner reading: “USA No Compromise Decrease Carbon.”
In Beijing, volunteers for the aid agency Oxfam placed life preservers on a Christmas tree in a dry riverbed, with the slogan, “Save Life, Act Now.”
