Thousands of British Columbians gathered at the Vancouver Art Gallery and took to the downtown streets on Sunday, joining protesters from around the world in calling for action from the United Nations Conference on Climate Change that begins in Paris this week.
Organizers of the Vancouver Climate March estimated that more than 6,000 people participated in the event, which was one of thousands taking place around the world Sunday.
Asked to sum up the importance of the events, one participant told CTV News he believes climate solutions are more likely to come about if more people take to the streets more often.
"It's obvious that politicians lack the will to really do much about it, and I don't think anyone really has the sense that anything is going to come out of Paris that really changes things,” he said. “What’s going to change things is people getting out here in the streets more often."
More than 70 environmental groups were responsible for organizing the Vancouver event.
One of the people who helped organize the event, environmentalist Shannon Walker, said she’s optimistic about Vancouver’s ability to deal with climate change.
"I think with Vancouver, it's a very positive outlook because we have made that renewable goal for the next 20 years," she said.
