New climate march in Brussels on 10 November

Rise For Climate Belgium is organising a new climate march in Brussels on 10 November, on the eve of the UN Climate Change Conference in Baku. The march is also organised in solidarity with the victims of the devastating floods in Spain. A new EU report meanwhile shows that net EU greenhouse gas emissions fell by 8.3 per cent in 2023 compared to the previous year.

At around 2 pm on 10 November, a climate march will leave from the Carrefour de l'Europe at Brussels Central Station to the European Parliament at Place Luxembourg. Rise For Climate Belgium is the organiser of the new march in Brussels. Among the participating organisations are Youth for Climate, FairFin, the Climate Cause and Extinction Rebellion Belgium.

With the march, the organisations not only want to offer support to the victims of the recent floods in Spain, but also send a signal that they do not agree that an oil-producing country should once again be chosen to host a climate summit. “The UN is undermining the independence of the COPs,” declared the organisations. The 29th UN Climate Change Conference, COP 29, will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November.

The participating organisations demand the exclusion of all fossil fuel lobbies and their delegations at COP29. Belgium and the 27 other EU member states should renew the respect for the Paris Climate Agreement by curbing the 405 billion euros in government subsidies for fossil fuels. The release of environmental and human rights activists imprisoned around the world, including Paul Watson, is also on the agenda on 10 November.

Emission cuts in EU

The European Commission has meanwhile published the 2024 Climate Action Progress Report, showing that net EU greenhouse gas emissions fell by 8.3 per cent in 2023 compared to the previous year. That is the largest annual drop in decades, with the exception of 2020 when COVID-19 led to emission cuts of 9.8 per cent. Net GHG emissions are now 37 per cent below 1990 levels. “The EU remains on track to reach its commitment to reduce emissions by at least 55% by 2030,” stated the Commission.

^{Protest action in Brussels carried out in parallel with a climate march, October 2024 © BELGA PHOTO Nicolas Landemard/Le Pictorium/MAXPPP}