Thousands of people marched last Saturday in Oakland to demand political action on climate change and a global reduction in fossil fuels in advance of the global climate conference in Paris. The crowd, estimated at more than 4,000, marched from Lake Merritt to Frank Ogawa Plaza. Drummers and dancers entertained the crowd while local speakers highlighted the major challenges to reducing global warming.
The Conference of Parties (COP) will convene the 21st global conference on climate change November 30 through December 11 in Paris. California Governor Jerry Brown, Richmond Mayor Tom Butt and other local leaders will be joining their world counterparts to address the growing climate change issues. More than 1 million people were expected to march in Paris this weekend, but because of the recent terrorist attacks, that major demonstration was cancelled.
According to Jack Fleck, head of 350 Bay Area Org., a grassroots organization with the aim of reducing carbon pollution in the San Francisco Bay area and beyond, this highlights the importance of the local march. “All of these rallies like ours around the world will be sending that same message to the Paris conference that we really need serious climate action,” he said. “The era of excuses is over.”