A large crowd is anticipated to join in the Townsville People’s Climate March on the Strand on Saturday afternoon.

The Townsville march is one of over 2380 marches being held around the world over the weekend. The marches precede the beginning of the 21st United Nations Climate Summit (CPO21) in Paris next week.

Townsville and communities worldwide will call upon global leaders to commit to strong climate action, a rapid and just transition to clean, renewable energy, a safe climate and a better, safer and fairer future for all.

The marches acknowledge that our generation is the first one to experience the implications of climate change and the last one that can do something about it.

In October, scientists reported for the first time that the year 2015 will again break records, and be the hottest year on record. Significantly, it will also be the first year that the average temperature of the world will have warmed by more than 1 degree Celsius since pre-industrialised times. (In other words, in 2015, the world we live in is, on average, 1 degree warmer than the 1850–1900 average temperature.)

And many North Queenslanders are now recognising that their livelihoods and lifestyles as well as the environment are being affected by climate change.  Right now, for example, hotter days, warmer nights, drought and bushfires force us to adapt our ways of life. At the same time, massive amounts of heat absorbed by the oceans and warmer sea temperatures, coinciding with an unusually strong El Nino, are placing the Great Barrier Reef at a 60% risk of a significant bleaching event this summer.

More and more people realise that the the world must come together and take action to keep global warming below 2, or even 1.5, degrees, in order to secure a better, safer and fairer future for all.

To join the Townsville People’s Climate March, meet at the Rockpool on the Strand before 4pm – ready for a 4pm departure. Wear bright colours and bring placards if you wish. Participants will walk to the Burke Street Headland, near Strand Park, and hear a few short speeches before a group photo is taken.

From about 5.30pm there will be an opportunity to be involved in a short film, following on from the Heads in the Sand image that went viral last year.

Coordinated by North Queensland Conservation Council on behalf of the Townsville community, people of all ages, from all of our suburbs, and from all walks of life are invited to come out and join the Townsville People’s Climate March.

For more information see Townsville Climate March.

Twitter: #peoplesclimate