ANTALYA (Reuters) – Thousands of protesters took to the streets on Saturday in the Turkish city hosting COP31 to accuse the climate summit of failing those bearing the brunt of environmental destruction.
The show of dissent comes as negotiators approach the crunch final week of global climate talks in Antalya, with nearly 200 nations scrambling to strike a deal by Nov 20.
The summit is not expected to produce a major breakthrough, frustrating activists demanding tougher curbs on planet-warming fossil fuels and fresh pledges to help poorer countries adapt to climate impacts.
In downtown Antalya, under rainy skies, thousands of protesters dressed in costumes and shouting slogans marched under close police supervision in the largest demonstration since COP31 began on Nov 9.
“We are suffering the consequences of climate injustice, yet our voices are never heard at the COP,” said Halime Saman from the People’s Climate Summit platform, one of the groups behind the rally.
“Turkey is the co-chair of COP31, but still has no roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels. New power stations and coal mines are being opened,” she told AFP.
Yasar Gokoglu, a 78-year-old demonstrator, travelled nearly 600km from Adana in southern Turkey to denounce what he called “a masquerade sponsored by monopolies”.
Police estimated that more than 7,000 people attended the protest, which was organized by environmental groups, trade unions and rights organizations and proceeded without any major incident.
Much smaller demonstrations inside the COP31 venue this week, including one attended by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, have been mounting pressure on political leaders to act faster on the climate crisis.
The negotiations hit the halfway point on Saturday, but countries remain far apart on contentious issues including financing adaptation measures in developing nations, defending climate science, and shifting from fossil fuels to clean energy.
Australia’s Climate Minister Chris Bowen, who is chairing the formal negotiations, said there had been “really good and positive conversations”, but some issues required more time.
Outside the negotiations, Turkey is urging countries to join a voluntary pledge to raise the share of global final energy demand met by electricity.