Climate activists will march through the streets of Brussels on Sunday, to protest the hosting of next week's international COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan.
Belgian citizen collective Rise for Climate are planning the march to highlight Azerbaijan's reliance on oil exports and human rights record, and how the UN's choice of host country for the COP29 conference "further promotes greenwashing and fossil fuel lobbies," according to collective co-founder Kim Lê Quang.
Between 500 and 1,000 people are expected to attend Sunday's protest. It will begin at Albertine Square (near Brussels-Central Station) with speeches and a performance from three artists at 14:00, before proceeding to the European Parliament on Place du Luxembourg.
The demonstrators will also call for "effective anticipatory and preventive measures and solidarity aid at European and global levels", added Kim Lê Quang. "Catastrophes occur, like in Valencia, Spain, and governments intervene too late," he said.
Opposition to Mercosur free trade agreement
Additionally, the collective will protest against the free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay), which could be finalised during the G20 summit on 18 and 19 November in Brazil.
The 'Walk for Your Future' climate march, in Brussels, on Sunday 23 October 2022. Credit: Belga/ Nicolas Maeterlinck
"MEP Saskia Bricmont and a representative from the organisation Espirito Mundo will speak on this issue," Lê Quang said.
Several organisations have publicly announced their support for the initiative, including Youth for Climate, Greenpeace Belgium, and Extinction Rebellion Belgium.
COP29 kicks off on Monday
Some 50,000 delegates are expected in Baku, Azerbaijan from Monday 11 November for the UN's annual COP (conference of the parties) climate conference.
Key in this year's negotiations will be the issue of climate financing. The Paris Agreement of 2016 set out that richer countries would cough up $100 billion per year to help developing countries in the climate transition.
The Paris Agreement also stipulated that a new amount for climate funding (a New Collective Quantified Goal) be decided by 2025, meaning that COP29 will centre around getting the new financing goal over the line.
