Global activists demand climate action

BRUSSELS: Young activists rallied for climate action on Friday, with protests from New Zealand and Japan to Germany and the Democratic Republic of Congo to demand rich countries pay for the damage that global warming is inflicting on the poor.

The protests took place six weeks before the UN climate summit, known as COP 27 in June, where vulnerable countries plan to push for compensation for climate-related destruction to homes, infrastructure and livelihoods.

Youth movement Fridays for Future planned to hold demonstrations in around 450 locations around the world. They are timed to coincide with global leaders meeting at the UN General AssemblyUN General Assembly in New York City.

One day, it could be my house that gets flooded, said 15-year-old Park Chae-yun, one of around 200 protesters in Seoul, South Korea. I'm living with a sense of crisis, so I think it's more important to give my concerns to the government to take preventive measures rather than go to school. A protester who gave their name as Meta had the same concern in Indonesia: If Jakarta is flooded, everyone who has money can leave. Around 400 young activists gathered in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital, chanting slogans such as Act for Africa, protect our planet, and carrying cardboard signs reading Climate Justice and Climate SOS while walking on the shoulder of a busy thoroughfare.

Developing countries demand Loss Damage compensation to be addressed at the COP 27 in Egypt in November due to the escalating and irreparable damage caused by climate change.