The World Meterological Organisation (WMO) declared 2001-2010 as the ‘Decade of Climate Extremes’. Then we had Uttarakhand disaster in 2013 and we are still dealing with the recent massive floods in Jammu & Kashmir . Experts tell us that an increasingly erratic and damaging change in the global and regional climate systems has already started impacting vulnerable people in ever larger numbers, in many societies and countries, to ever greater extent.
‘People’s Climate March’ on Saturday, September 20, 2014 in Delhi is being held to send out a strong message to the governments that people are no longer willing to accept the weak and wrong actions on this front. “The governments – both at the Centre and the states – need to take swift and decisive action on climate change, both on the Adaptation and Mitigation fronts. There is an urgent need to understand and act on ‘nature-denying development’ policies in the context of climate change. Failing to do so will certainly lead to undesirable results of the development mantra that almost all governments have adopted,” said Soumya Dutta of Beyond Copenhagen Collective (BCPH), an advocacy group on Climate Change.
From college students to ricksha-walas, from school students to daily wagers, from artists to working professionals, resident welfare associations, NGO representatives and those associated with One Billion Rising network are set to join the ‘People’s Climate March’ on Saturday, September 20, 2014.
Across the World:
September 20 & 21 will see thousands of rallies, marches and protests simultaneously across the world delivering the biggest ever global demonstration for climate action in history. More than 1,500 ‘People’s Climate’ events are planned worldwide in 136 countries. The largest rally will be in New York where over 1,50,000 people are expected to come together to demand leaders take action in advance of the Ban Ki Moon climate summit that will take place two days later. (peoplesclimate.org)
The UN summit is designed to build momentum for national and international climate action, including a new global climate treaty that will be finalized in Paris next year. “Action, Not Words” will be watch-word for the organizers at the summit.
So, if you care for the Mother Earth, if you are worried about the climate change and want to do something, join the People’s Climate March in Delhi or anywhere you are across the globe. If there is none happening, you organise one. After all, if we are expecting the governments to do ‘Action, Not Words’, we too need to be pro-active.
