From the Copenhagen Climate conference 2009

Yesterday was a Global Day For Action, when over 3,000 demonstrations asking for a stop to climate change were organised around the planet. Naturally, Copenhagen was the focal city as scores of different movements marched the streets from Parliament Square to the conference hub, the Bella Centre.

On a freezing morning in Copenhagen, around 75,000 to 1,00,000 people including members from organisations such as Green Peace, Oxfam, 350.org, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Climate Action Network, amongst others, came together at the Parliament Square along with trade union members from across the world as they commenced the 10 kilometreu00a0 march to Bella Centre.

It was an extraordinary sight and event. Interestingly, some speakers were selected to speak before the march and some to speak after. It appeared I was the only speaker to be selected to speak before and after the march as well. The thrust of my speech was that if developed countries are responsible for 90 per cent of the emissions, then they should take 90 per cent of the responsibility, as well as the fact that in the next week there will be immense pressure on the developing countries to compromise on the Kyoto Protocol and work out a deal. Now is the time to not bend.

A crowd of around 30,000 people was expected to gather and take part in the march, but close to 1,00,000 people assembled. They were addressed by speakers such as Mary Robinson, ex-prime minister of Ireland; Kumi Naidoo, executive director of Green Peace; Helena Christiansen, the Danish-Peruvian supermodel-photographer; Constance Okoollet, a Ugandan farmer; Shobhani Khatoon, a Bangladeshi farmer; and Tom Goldtooth, a Native American speaker, amongst others u2014including Danish politicians.