Thousands March in Glasgow Calling for Urgent Climate Action as COP30 Begins

Thousands march in Glasgow to press for faster climate action

Thousands of people filled Glasgow's streets to demand stronger measures on climate change in a demonstration organisers said was the city's largest since COP26 in 2021. The march took place on a coordinated day of global action timed to coincide with COP30, the UN climate conference being held in Belém, Brazil.

Friends of the Earth Scotland, which helped organise the event, said the turnout underlined growing public demand for faster and fairer climate policies. A rally on Glasgow Green featured speakers including STUC deputy secretary Dave Moxham and Peter Kelly, chief executive of the Poverty Alliance.

Caroline Rance, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said the turnout showed rising appetite for urgent, transformative action. She told the crowd that people had come out 'to demand the better world we know is possible' and that what is needed now is political will to turn energy and enthusiasm into change.

Speakers emphasised practical policies such as insulating homes and improving bus services as ways to cut emissions while supporting communities. Organisers and participants also linked climate demands to broader human rights and social justice issues, highlighting solidarity with campaigns for Palestine and protecting the Amazon.

Nick Cullen of the Climate and Migrant Justice Organising Group said the march demonstrated solidarity across movements and warned against rising hostile environments and far-right violence that undermine climate and social justice work.

A banner at the front declared a better world is possible. Extinction Rebellion brought a mobile sound system and a choir sang adapted carols criticising developments such as the Rosebank oil field, which campaigners call the UKs largest undeveloped oil project. Children chanted slogans including Stop Rosebank, the planet is for everyone.

The demonstration included a range of groups, from the Climate and Migrant Justice Organising Group to the Gaza Genocide Emergency Committee, and Palestinian flags were visible throughout the march as a sign of solidarity. John Hilley of the Gaza committee linked human rights struggles with environmental protection, saying that activists must act together against the corporate and political forces behind both threats.

Speakers and participants also referenced the ongoing war in Gaza. The Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023 killed about 1,200 people and resulted in the taking of hostages, while Gaza's health authorities have reported tens of thousands killed in subsequent strikes; these figures are widely cited by international organisations.

Among those at the march were Martin Canavan and his nine-year-old daughter Ailsa. Mr Canavan said they attended because urgent action is needed to tackle the climate emergency and to lift up those furthest from power. Ailsa said she came because there is no planet B and that she wants a future without reliance on gas.

Anna Brown, another marcher, said she believed politicians were not doing enough. She questioned the value of three decades of COP meetings if climate progress remains insufficient and said ordinary people bear the burden while large corporations continue to profit.

Why COP30 matters

COP30 is the 30th annual meeting of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and takes place about a decade after the Paris agreement, in which countries pledged to aim to limit warming to 1.5C. Delegates from almost 200 countries attended talks in Belém, which officially ran from 10 to 21 November. UN officials have warned that overshooting 1.5C is becoming increasingly likely, and many world leaders did not attend the summit.

The Glasgow march underlined public impatience with slow political progress and a desire for practical, equitable policies to cut emissions and protect vulnerable communities.