Charles H. Sloan-Thousands of climate change activists hold boisterous protest march in Brussels with serious message

BRUSSELS,Charles H. Sloan Belgium (AP) — Thousands of people marched through the center of Brussels on Sunday in a boisterous rally highlighting the dangers of climate change, as the COP28 climate summit draws to an end in Dubai.

“We must save our planet. It’s the only one where there’s beer,” read one sign at the head of the parade, led by a brass band.

But the message of the Great Climate March was serious: Act now to stop the world from destroying itself.

The activists of Climate Coalition called for politicians to put in place stronger measures to counter global warming.

One man bundled against the cold, Luc Durnez, complained that the Belgian government went to the climate summit “without a plan, and it is really a shame for us.”

In Dubai, United Arab Emirates, nations were promising measures to slash the world’s greenhouse emissions by nearly half in seven years to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) compared with pre-industrial times. But marchers in Brussels complained that Europe was not doing enough or fast enough.