Thousands of activists join climate change protest in Glasgow

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Glasgow to protest against climate change.

Demonstrators marched through the city centre on a day of global action to coincide with the COP30 climate talks in Brazil.

Speakers at a rally on Glasgow Green afterwards included STUC deputy secretary Dave Moxham and Poverty Alliance chief executive Peter Kelly.

Organisers Friends Of The Earth Scotland said it was the biggest climate march in Glasgow since COP26 was held in the city in 2021.

A banner at the front of the procession declared “a better world is possible”, while Extinction Rebellion supporters accompanied the march with a mobile sound system.

A choir performed reworked Christmas carols, adapting the lyrics to voice opposition to the Rosebank oil field, located west of the Shetland Isles.

A group of children chanted “Stop Rosebank, the planet is for everyone” – in reference to the UK’s largest undeveloped oil field – as they moved through the city centre.

One activist wore a Donald Trump mask and held a sign that read: “It’s capitalism, ya eejits”.

The Climate and Migrant Justice Organising Group and the Gaza Genocide Emergency Committee were among the groups taking part.

Palestinian flags also were visible throughout the march in a show of solidarity with people in Gaza.

Caroline Rance, Friends of the Earth Scotland’s head of campaigns, said the turnout showed a growing desire for urgent climate action.

She added: “People came out in huge numbers to demand that better world we know is possible.

“There is energy and enthusiasm to make transformative change happen, all it requires is the political will.”

Ms Rance said public concern about the climate emergency remained “really high”.

She continued: “People recognise that the challenges our communities face, from Palestine to the Amazon, are deeply connected.”

Ms Rance also highlighted positive climate action measures such as insulating homes and improving the country’s bus services.

Nick Cullen, of the Climate and Migrant Justice Organising Group, said the demonstration reflected a shared struggle across movements.

“We joined this march because we must stand together against the deepening hostile environment, far right violence, and the erosion of climate action,” he added.

“Today showed that in these challenging times, our communities are stronger and more powerful when we come together.”

John Hilley, of the Gaza Genocide Emergency Committee in Glasgow, said the fights for human rights and environmental protection were inseparable.

He added: “We must act together and with urgency against the same corporate and political forces behind those existential threats.”

The war in Gaza was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

Since then, more than 69,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures the UN considers reliable.

Delegates from almost 200 countries are attending COP30 talks in Belém, Brazil.

It takes place 10 years after the Paris climate agreement, in which countries pledged to try to restrict the rise in global temperatures to 1.5C.

However, the head of the United Nations (UN) said “overshooting” 1.5C is now inevitable – and many world leaders are absent from the talks.

COP30 is the 30th annual UN climate meeting and comes four years after Glasgow hosted COP26.

COP stands for “Conference of the Parties”. “Parties” refers to the nearly 200 countries that have signed up to the original UN climate agreement of 1992.

It officially started on Monday 10 November and will run until Friday 21 November.

However, the talks often overrun because of last-minute negotiations to secure a deal.