Participants in massive Glasgow protest demand immediate climate action

Tens of thousands of peaceful demonstrators marched through Glasgow on Saturday, calling on world leaders to make drastic, immediate changes to fight climate change before it's too late.

Glasgow is hosting the U.N. climate summit COP26, and coordinated protests were held in other cities across Europe, including London, Copenhagen, Paris, and Zurich. Negotiators are working on draft agreements of major commitments, including capping global warming at 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit and providing more financial support for poorer countries.

The climate activists carried signs reading "COP26, We Are Watching You" and "Stop Big Polluters," and demanded world leaders curb the use of fossil fuels, which produce heat-trapping gases. Marcher Daze Aghaji told The Associated Press conversations are being held, but "there's no policies to actually back them." Aghaji echoed the concerns of other protesters who think COP26 should include more public participation, saying, "How are we expecting to make decent policy when the people who are the stakeholders of this aren't even present in the room?"

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Elizabeth May, a Canadian member of parliament who has participated in COP talks, was at the march, and told AP that "overwhelmingly, the protests make a difference. Most of the people on the inside are here in their hearts and sometimes physically."