COP26 protests: Marchers from around the globe join Glasgow protests

Organisers said around 100,000 people joined the biggest demonstration of the COP26 summit, with environmental groups, indigenous people, charities, climate activists and trade unionists braving pouring rain and wind to highlight the cause.

The march set off from Kelvingrove Park and followed a three-mile route to Glasgow Green via George Square in the city centre.

A global day of action also saw 100 climate change demonstrations held in other parts of the UK, while events took place in a further 100 countries including Kenya, Turkey, France, Brazil, Australia and Canada.

In London, protesters marched from the Bank of England to Trafalgar Square while another large demonstration was held in Cardiff.

Among the marchers in Glasgow was Hannah Wickes, from Berlin, who had also attended the youth climate march on Friday.

She said: “There is a force in numbers here and it is having that visibility that people really want no more ‘blah blah’ and they want action to happen.

“It’s easy to become dispirited with the climate crisis – and so marching together, it is something which is a hopeful action.

“The youth climate march particularly was so supportive. We were next to a girl from Poland, two guys from El Salvador, we had students from Glasgow University there as well and students from Edinburgh we met.

“It was a truly global moment of all these people coming together.”

Wickes, who works for tree-planting search engine Ecosia, added that her colleagues in Berlin were also marching in solidarity with the action in Glasgow.

Siani, a campaigner from Worcestershire, said it was important to take part in the march and she hoped the politicians would take notice.

She said: “You just feel you want to do something and you want to let them know the public want them to do as much as possible.

“You want them to not only feel the responsibility towards us and also future generations for what they are doing, but also to feel they have support – to know that the public do actually want them to do something major and make changes.”

Jason Cook, 54, from Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, said he and two friends were marching because they were tired of hearing “blah, blah, blah” from leaders on climate action – a phrase Greta Thunberg used to take aim at world leaders including Boris Johnson at a youth climate summit in Milan in September.

Cook said: “We don’t want to hear any more blah, blah, blah.”

The three men wore helmets, each adorned with a sign which said “blah”.

James Collett was one of a group of six Extinction Rebellion “Greenwash Busters” from Bristol, who attracted a crowd as they danced in the street to the Ghostbusters theme, dressed in white overalls.

He said: “Our message is to call out the greenwashing that is going on – not just in COP but with governments of the world.

“They are making all of these promises and so much of it is greenwash, we need to call them out.

“Greenwash is about corporations saying that they are going to do all this wonderful clean energy, while at the same time they are investing far more in fossil fuels and dirty energy.

“We hope to attract enough attention that people might start asking questions.”

Other unusual costumes included a woman covered in moss and Poseidon on stilts.

A group of children guided a display featuring what appeared to be a large snake wearing glasses.

As the march entered Glasgow city centre a group of activists dressed as rats stood across the road holding smoke flares.

The group, who were acting as though they represented various sectors, were holding signs which collectively said: “When COP fails, buy walls, buy guns, buy bombs.

“Bye bye climate migrants – profit over planet.”

Many world flags were on display, including a giant Saltire which was carried by a group of Scottish independence supporters.

Alex Torrance, from Edinburgh, who was on the march with his dad Jim, said he wanted to show support for the concern over issues like greenwashing.

But he added: “We are also very much here to show our support for independence and show the world we are still pushing for independence – we are here and we are not going away.

“I think it is really important the world’s attention has been on Glasgow and Scotland – I personally feel like it is a shame Nicola Sturgeon decided against bringing up independence during this conference, meeting people like Joe Biden and Angela Merkel would have been a good opportunity to agitate. But regardless we are here and I am privileged to take part in the march today.”

Another Yes supporter, Jackie, who had a Catalonia flag, said: “We are here for COP but also for independence too. The world is watching us, so that is a good thing.”

Addressing the rally at the end of the Glasgow climate march, Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate said that climate change was “not taking place at some distant point of time, it is happening right now”.

She warned: “1.2C is already hell for us. It’s already destruction. It’s already suffering. It’s already disaster. Any rise will only make things worse.

“The science is very clear. The most recent IPCC report says that in order to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis, we have to end the development of all new fossil fuels.”

She added: “Leaders rarely have the courage to lead. It takes citizens, people like you and me, to rise up and demand action. And when we do that in great enough numbers, our leaders will move.

“Until then, we must demand that our leaders treat the climate crisis like our crisis, we must demand that our leaders stop holding meaningless summits and start taking meaningful action.

“We are all strong together and united and we can make this happen. Another world is possible.”

Before the march began, police arrested 21 protesters from Scientist Rebellion who had chained themselves together and blocked a road bridge over the River Clyde.

There were also reports that some young protesters had been kettled for a time by police around St Vincent Street in the city.

Police Scotland said following an “escalation in their conduct” a “small number” of people who deliberately stopped were contained by police “on the grounds of public safety”.

Organisers the COP26 Coalition claimed more than 100,000 people had turned out despite the weather, as an estimated 300 events were taking place worldwide.

COP26 Coalition spokesman Asad Rehman said: “Many thousands of people took to the streets today on every continent demanding that governments move from climate inaction to climate justice.”