Hundreds of climate activists protested in Paris on Wednesday demanding an end to the financing of fossil fuels as a summit for a new global financial pact begins in the French capital.
Climate activists protest in Paris demanding end to financing of fossil fuels
replica of a wind turbine on a net reading "End fossil finance, make polluters pay" as activists demonstrate against fossil finance on the Trocadero Plaza, at the Eiffel Tower
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They are now calling for more meaningful commitments including a roadmap for what to expect from this year's meeting of the Group of 20 major economies and UN climate conference.
"What makes us angry, and not just on the eve of the summit, is that companies like TotalEnergies, Exxon and Shell continue to break profit records every year, even though they have known for 50 years about the impact of their activities on the climate and biodiversity," said Soraya Fettih, the 350.org campaign manager.
The protests also attracted climate activists from Uganda who are opposing the mega oil project and its pipeline terming it an environmental hazard
Patience Nabukalu is one of the climate activists and she has a message to the French President Emmanual Macron.
"President Macron, keep it in the ground, stop the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), and make polluters pay if we are to have climate justice. End fossil fuel finance. And the last one (my message, ed) is, from me... from Uganda. We are watching you. Let this (the summit, ed) be a step you take for people like us, for people from countries like mine," said Patience Nabukalu.
Heads of state, finance leaders, and activists from around the world will converge in Paris to seek ways to overhaul the world's development banks - like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank - and help them weather a warmer and stormier world.