Edmonton protesters call for climate change action
Protesters gathered on the steps of the Alberta Legislature over the weekend demanding the federal government change its position on climate change.
The rally on Saturday was one of the many demonstrations on climate change held around the world to coincide with the Global Day of Action campaign.
The protests come at the same time world leaders are meeting in Durban, South Africa, for the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Mike Hudema, a climate and energy campaigner with Greenpeace Canada, is one of the organizers of the Edmonton rally.
He said the protesters are pushing for the Alberta and federal governments to make drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions so Canada can address a growing climate crisis that is affecting people all over the world.
“We're playing with people's lives here,” he said. “It's time that we took the climate action that scientists are telling us we need to take, that our communities are telling us we need to take and that the earth is telling us we need to take.”
On Saturday, South African delegates scolded Canada's federal government, telling the media that it was "bullying" smaller nations over climate change.
“That’s not appropriate,” said Hudema. “Canada needs to be a leader on the world stage when it comes to the environment, not the last at the table.”
