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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 15-11-29
CONTENTS
[01] Thousands march through Athens to demand effective policies on
climate change
[01] Thousands march through Athens to demand effective policies on
climate change
Thousands of Athenians marched in the Greek capital on Sunday to join
efforts with millions of people around the world who want to pressure
politicians to come to a legally binding agreement at the Paris Climate
Conference which will run from November 30 to December 11 and will be
attended by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
People of all ages held placards and whistles and chanted slogans for
the environment, in the sounds of live music. The march started from
Dionysiou Areopagitou Street that meanders around the Acropolis Hill and
reached the Greek parliament, where it called for immediate decisions
to address climate change and achieve a better future for all.
A six-year-old boy who came with his parents and was painting a placard
with his friends that read "100 pct clean energy", told ANA-MPA that
"we're here to save the planet".
The march was organized by WWF, Greenpeace and Avaaz which coordinated all
the actions in the Greek capital. According to the three organizations,
climate change is estimated it will cost Greece about 700 billion euros
by the end of the century.
"Our country, along with other Mediterranean countries, is expected
to be hit hard by the consequences of climate change: It will affect
agriculture, tourism, all production activities. We will have a
significant increase in the frequency and intensity of wildfires,
and other extreme weather phenomena," chief executive of WWF Greece,
Dimitris Karavelas, told ANA-MPA.
"Athens' mobilization was a positive surprise. Thousands of people have
sent a message to the political leadership in Greece and the rest of the
world in the name of our fellow citizens in Paris, where, for security
reasons, demonstrations were banned," said Nikos Charalambidis, director
general at Greenpeace's Greek office.
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