A coalition of environmental organisations took to the streets of Truro this weekend to protest climate injustice.
Hundreds of people gathered in Cornwall’s capital on Saturday, November 6 to demand that governments and big corporations take greater steps to tackle climate change.
The rally echoed similar events in Falmouth, Penzance and Plymouth, which were held as part of a ‘Global Day of Climate Justice’.
Demonstrators converged at 1pm at Hendra Skate Park and moved through the centre of Truro, waving homemade placards, posters and banners.
They stopped off at New County Hall, chanting: “We are unstoppable, another world is possible” and “Who’s future,? Our future.”
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The climate coalition included charities, unions, political parties, activist and faith groups and was formed in response to the COP26 summit in Glasgow.
Among the groups were local branches of XR, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, who called on the UK government to end support for fossil fuels.
Kay Ecclestone, one of the organisers, described the turnout—estimated by police as 450 people—as “brilliant”.
The former librarian from St Austell said: “We were originally told that there would just be a rally in Bristol. We thought, no, it’s three hours to Bristol, that’s not environmentally friendly.
“We believe fundamentally in climate action, and that we need it now, so that's why we organised a rally in Cornwall.”
The protestors finished their march back at Hendra Skate Park at 3pm, to listen to speeches from the public.
Tamsyn Widdon, Green Party Cornwall Councillor for Penryn, told the crowd that more needed to be done at COP26 to bring about change.
Cllr Widden said: “I do think that they are making changes at COP. They’ve made some commitments to deforestation and have made small steps towards carbon taxes. It’s not enough, and it’s too late, but they are making moves.
“What I worry about is that we haven’t got millions of people around here demanding this. It’s not action on the ground that will make a difference, it’s action in government. But we need to make a positive message of what looking after our planet actually means for people’s lives.”
Around 200 events were said to be taking across the UK and around the world on Saturday, organisers of the Cop26 Coalition said.
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