Members of the Council of Canadians Peterborough-Kawarthas chapter in Ontario joined with the local group, the Peterborough Alliance for Climate Action for an event last weekend called “Drum for the Planet.”
Participants marched through the streets, banging on drums, using bells and tambourines as well as their voices, to raise awareness about the urgent need for climate action now. Many wore bright green signs with messages and slogans, calling on governments to act before global warming reaches a critical tipping point.
In October, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued an urgent report that says governments must make “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society” to avoid disastrous levels of climate change.
The report, written by some of the world’s leading scientists, says the planet will reach the crucial threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by as early as 2030, increasing the risk of extreme drought, wildfires, floods and food shortages for hundreds of millions of people.
Since October, Council of Canadians supporters and chapter activists, like those in Peterborough-Kawarthas, have been delivering copies of the report to local MPs and taking action in communities across the country to raise awareness and build support for urgent government action to curb global warming.
