Campaigners stage climate protests across continents

BERLIN (AP) — Environmental campaigners staged protests on several continents Friday to press their demands for more government action to curb global warming ahead of the upcoming U.N. climate summit in Glasgow.

Protesters rallied in Uganda, Bangladesh, India, Sweden and Germany to call for measures that prevent dangerous levels of warming and take account of the plight of the world's poorest, who are particularly hard-hit by climate change.

Thousands of mostly young people rallied at Berlin's iconic Brandenburg Gate, carrying banners featuring slogans such as “Act now or swim later” and “Don't melt our future.”

Many called on the next German government to place greater emphasis on tackling climate change. Three parties, including the environmentalist Greens, are negotiating to form a coalition government following the Sept. 26 election that saw outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Union bloc come second.

The Union bloc is not part of those talks, though Merkel is expected to attend the U.N. climate talks next month in her role as head of a caretaker government.

In Stockholm, Swedish activist Greta Thunberg took part in the protest. Her weekly “school strike for climate” helped inspire the international protest movement that saw regular, vast demonstrations before restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic curtailed such rallies.

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