PARIS -- On the final day of the U.N. Climate Conference in Paris, activists associated with the group Friends of the Earth disbursed around the city and used their cell phones to spell out "Climate Justice" as well as "Peace," using geolocation tagging.
Massive message - roughly 3000 participants, 1200 points https://t.co/djCyBEKu3a #ClimateJusticePeace #cop21 pic.twitter.com/6NjoSFebKB— Friends of the Earth (@FoEint) December 12, 2015
The demonstration was designed to skirt around the ban on protests that French authorities had put in place ahead of the climate summit and in the wake of the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks.
#ClimateJusticePeace C for Climate Justice Now! #COP21 #THClimate! #D12 pic.twitter.com/2DRT48o2KO— Fai H. (@Faikham) December 12, 2015
Friends of the Earth claims that about 3,000 people participated in the campaign, with about 1,200 points on the map.
The action was one of several protests throughout Paris, involving more than 10,000 activists, according to figures from the group 350.org. Activists with 350.org and other organizations laid a red line from the Arc de Triomphe, along Avenue de la Grande Armée toward the business district La Défense, where oil company Total is headquartered.
This is what thousands of people who want real solutions look like. #COP21, the world is watching. #d12 pic.twitter.com/BgPGQKiBFl— 350 dot org (@350) December 12, 2015
Payal Parekh, 350.org global managing director, said in a statement: “Our communities, our climate, our survival: those are our red lines, and we’re mobilizing to defend them. Paris has never been an end point for us, but a chance to get an agreement that will help us continue with our fight for climate justice. If politicians won’t keep fossil fuels in the ground, we will. Our survival depends on it.”