UN Chief, Actor Leonardo Dicaprio Join Thousands At Rally On Climate Change

The summit is expected to draw more than 120 heads of State and Government to galvanize action on climate change.

The People’s Climate March is part of a worldwide campaign to persuade global leaders to act decisively on the issue.

Similar climate events were reported in 2,000 locations around the world.

The march is campaigning, among other issues for curbs on harmful carbon emissions which contribute to global warming.

At last count, 2,129,060 people around the world had also signed a petition calling for world leaders to take bold action at the UN Climate Summit on September 23. The petition was handed over to the UN chief on the march route.

Chanting slogans and playing music, marchers created a noisy carnival atmosphere as they filed through Manhattan.

Many were dressed in costumes associated with indigenous groups while others wore protest T-shirts. People held banners in the shape of a road sign warned “Climate Crisis Ahead”.

March organizers Avaaz’s Executive Director Ricken Patel said it was crucial for people to get out onto the streets as there is a “huge gap between the action our survival requires and the action our governments are willing to take,” on climate change.

Young people carry banners and signs as they demonstrate in a climate change march Sunday, Sept. 21, 2014, in New York. (Source: AP) Young people carry banners and signs as they demonstrate in a climate change march Sunday, Sept. 21, 2014, in New York. (Source: AP)

“The street is where we close that gap,” he said.

“We are rushing headlong into catastrophic tipping points in our climate system,” Patel said. “We need action fast to transition to a 100 per cent clean energy economy.”