Crowds gathered in Melbourne, Cairns and other parts of Australia to demand immediate action on climate change, as part of a global rally ahead of a special UN summit.
Demonstrators marched to the Cairns Convention Centre where G20 Finance Ministers were meeting, and held placards with the words “Renewables” and “Change Now.”
A march in Melbourne drew thousands onto the streets, among the events organised in 159 countries. Some demonstrators criticised Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, whose government has become the world’s first to repeal a carbon tax.
“Abbott failing to protect us” and “Hey Tony, you’re heading for a climate change cliff!” placards read.
New York will host the main demonstration, billed as the “largest climate march in history,” initiated by a broad worldwide coalition of activists.
“We don’t need to start a conversation about what we have to do, we have to take action,” Christine Milne, the Green party leader told the demonstrators in Melbourne.
London, Johannesburg, New Delhi and Rio de Janeiro are other key locations. Hundreds of youths took to the streets in Kathmandu on Saturday to demand “bold action and climate justice,” the organisers said.
The People’s Climate March protests come two days before a one-day UN Climate Summit convened by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to engage world leaders on speeding up efforts to reduce global warming.
U.S. President Barack Obama will be among the 120 leaders at the summit. Activists have criticised the leaders of other big carbon-emitting economies, including China, India, Canada and Australia for only sending representatives.
