Hundreds of climate activists are expected to take to the streets of Brussels during the 'Great' Climate March on Sunday, taking place just days after COP28 in Dubai gets underway.
The Belgian activist group Climate Coalition is calling on concerned citizens to march through the Belgian capital to urge politicians and decision-makers to implement stronger measures to limit global warming.
The march will set off from Brussels-North station at 12:30 on Sunday and will finish at the Esplanade du Cinquantenaire.
Last year's climate march. Credit: Belga/ Nicolas Maeterlinck
Nicolas Van Nuffel, Chair of Climate Coalition, is therefore calling on "citizens to take to the streets en masse to demand that Belgium and Europe finally get their act together to make the industry sector sustainable, improve the quality of our public transport, insulate our homes and restore nature".
The Climate Coalition brings together around 100 NGOs, trade unions and citizen movements from across Belgium who have helped campaign for "fair and necessary measures to tackle climate change".
For this year's event, the theme of the march is "every tenth of a degree counts". This refers to the fact that every 0.1°C less of a degree of warming means more biodiversity, more equality, better jobs, more clean air, fewer heatwaves and less flooding. "Every tenth of a degree we gain means a better future and a less difficult world for us, our children and their children."
Related News
- Giant thermometer appears on Place De Brouckère
- Are these days wetter than ever? Heavy rainfall a long-term concern in Belgium
Van Nuffel noted that, while it is unsure whether the march will break records when it comes to the number of participants, the organisation is confident that Belgians will join it in numbers. "It's now or never to make our voice heard. It's high time we moved on from sporadic actions to a general mobilisation."
On Thursday, the COP28 in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, will kick off. It is widely seen as the most important annual meeting in international climate negotiations, bringing together all countries that signed the 1992 UN Climate Convention.
For two weeks, they will discuss how to limit global warming to 1.5°C, while for the very first time, the Global Stocktake will be published – a global inventory monitoring the implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
As ever, various NGOs have warned that a greater urgency is needed in these discussions, the 1.5°C mark was already exceeded this year. "A drastic change of course is needed, also at the Belgian level. Targets and treaties mean little if they are not translated into action," said Koen Stuyck, climate and footprint policy officer at WWF-Belgium.
