Around fifty people gathered in front of Sheffield Town Hall on Saturday for a candle-lit climate change vigil demanding a “Real Deal” to be made at the United Nations summit in Copenhagen.
Children, students, young adults and retired people held candles and formed a circle around tea-lights arranged in the shape of a globe. More than 3000 similar events took place in 139 countries across the world.
The vigil, organised by Avaaz (a global web movement), called for a UN treaty that is fair, ambitious, and legally binding.
The event was hosted by University of Sheffield PhD student, Christine Thuring.
She said: “Events like this are a good way to have a sense of community, especially when it comes to gargantuan issues like climate change, that can often instil feelings of despair.
“By coming out and actively expressing our interests, our wishes, this builds hope- and gives us our best chance to actually believe in the future that we want, and it inspires us to commit to, represent and act out the changes we want to see.”
Those gathered outside the Town Hall also read a declaration committing to work together to save the planet.
Sana Salmon, a Sustainable Architecture student at the University of Sheffield, attended the vigil to support the campaign.
She said: “I believe we should go towards sustainability, as long as we’re not hampering the third world.”
Supporters of the “Real Deal” campaign are proposing that $200 billion should be invested in reducing the effects of climate change for poorer countries.
They also argue that 2015 should be a peak year for carbon emissions, with a safe carbon level of 350 parts per million in the atmosphere.
Yesterday, South African cleric and activist Desmond Tutu, on behalf of Avaaz, handed over a petition of more than 11 million signatures to UN climate chief Yvo de Boer.
Sheffield University PhD student Christine Thuring, who organised the vigil, explains why she hosted the event
Views from three people who attended the vigil
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