VANCOUVER - A crowd of pipeline opponents marched in downtown Vancouver Tuesday as part of a week of protests around the world demanding urgent action on climate change.
Local environmental groups organized the latest event, which saw about 100 people gather outside the Environment and Climate Change Canada office on Burrard and Pender streets carrying signs and banners.
Participants focussed much of their frustration at the Trudeau government's decision to spend $4.5 billion buying the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion – a project they contend will only worsen the global climate crisis that threatens to destabilize the planet.
The week of Global Climate Strike events began last Friday, when youth-led rallies around the world, attended by what organizers estimate to be millions of participants, dragged climate issues into the spotlight.
They were prompted by worsening predictions about the pace of the problem; a recent report from the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization cautions the rates of carbon pollution, sea level rise and overall warming have all accelerated in recent years.
The Global Climate Strike is culminating this Friday with another round of protests that are expected to be attended by thousands of students in Vancouver alone. Many school districts in the region have decided to let students miss classes to take part in the event, provided they have parental permission.
Organizers say about 50 businesses in Vancouver are also closing for part of the day to show their support for the movement.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Emad Agahi
