Skip links

Skip to Content
play

Live

Navigation menu

  • News
    • Middle East
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • US & Canada
    • Latin America
    • Europe
    • Asia Pacific
  • Ukraine war
  • Features
  • Economy
  • Opinion
  • Video
    • Coronavirus
    • Climate Crisis
    • Investigations
    • Interactives
    • In Pictures
    • Science & Technology
    • Sports
    • Podcasts
play

Live

In Pictures

Gallery

Thousands march in Brussels to demand tougher climate action

Thousands of people marched in Brussels to push world leaders to take bolder action to fight climate change.

People hold signs and banners as they participate in a climate march in Brussels. [Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP Photo]
Published On 11 Oct 202111 Oct 2021
facebooktwitterwhatsapp

Dressed as endangered fish or tigers or wearing toy polar bears on their heads, demonstrators marched through Brussels on Sunday to push world leaders to take bolder action to fight climate change at the UN climate summit in Glasgow starting this month.

Thousands of people and 80 organisations took part in the protest, aiming for the biggest such event in the European Union’s capital since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, which stopped the climate movement’s weekly marches in its tracks.

Cyclists, families with children and white-haired demonstrators filled city streets, chanting slogans demanding climate justice and waving banners in English, French and Dutch. One carried a stuffed polar bear on her head, and others were dressed as animals endangered by human-caused climate change.

“After you’ve seen all the disasters we have seen this summer, it’s really crucial that we move now. Because everybody knows what the problem is,” said Xavier De Wannemaeker, a protester with the Extinction Rebellion group.

Scientists say there is little doubt that fuel emissions are contributing to extreme weather events like the droughts, fires, floods that have hit regions around the world this summer.

Demonstrator Lucien Dewanaga asked, “What do we do when we destroy the planet? We have nothing else. Human beings have to live in this world. And there is only one world.”

Environmentalists worry that the UN’s 26th Climate Change Conference of the Parties, known as the COP26, in Glasgow starting October 31 will produce policies that do not do enough to slash carbon emissions and slow the warming of the planet.

The 12-day summit aims to secure more ambitious commitments to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius with a goal of keeping it to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels. The event also is focused on mobilising financing to fight climate change and protecting vulnerable communities and natural habitats.

The crowd at Sunday’s protest included a mix of people with and without masks. With one of the world’s highest vaccination rates, Belgium is starting to ease virus restrictions and allow such gatherings again.

Some 80 organisations joined the march through Brussels to demand change and push politicians to effective action in Glasgow later this month. [Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP Photo]
Advertisement
Protesters wear costumes as they participate in the climate march. Environmentalists worry that the UN's 26th Climate Change Conference of the Parties, known as the COP26, in Glasgow starting on October 31 will produce policies that do not do enough to slash carbon emissions and slow the warming of the planet. [Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP Photo]
Dressed as endangered fish or tigers or wearing toy polar bears on their heads, demonstrators hope to push world leaders to take bolder action to fight climate change. [Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP Photo]
A woman carries a sign as she takes part in the climate march. Scientists say there is little doubt that fuel emissions are contributing to extreme weather events like the droughts, fires, floods that have hit regions around the world in recent months. [Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP Photo]
A girl holds a sign as she rides on the back of a bicycle during the demonstration and march in Brussels. [Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP Photo]
A girl holds up a sign to oncoming traffic during the march in Brussels. The COP26 summit aims to secure more ambitious commitments to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius with a goal of keeping it to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels. [Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP Photo]
Advertisement
A woman carries tree branches as she marches in Brussels. The COP26 summit is also focused on mobilising financing to fight climate change and protecting vulnerable communities and natural habitats. [Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP Photo]
Protesters hold signs as they march through Brussels. [Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP Photo]


    • About Us
    • Code of Ethics
    • Terms and Conditions
    • EU/EEA Regulatory Notice
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Cookie Preferences
    • Sitemap
    • Community Guidelines
    • Work for us
    • HR Quality
    • Contact Us
    • Apps
    • Channel Finder
    • TV Schedule
    • Podcasts
    • Submit a Tip
    • Al Jazeera Arabic
    • Al Jazeera English
    • Al Jazeera Investigative Unit
    • Al Jazeera Mubasher
    • Al Jazeera Documentary
    • Al Jazeera Balkans
    • AJ+
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Studies
    • Al Jazeera Media Institute
    • Learn Arabic
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights
    • Al Jazeera Forum
    • Al Jazeera Hotel Partners

Follow Al Jazeera English:

  • rss
  • instagram-colored-outline
  • youtube
  • twitter
  • facebook
Al Jazeera Media Network logo
© 2022 Al Jazeera Media Network