The protest was organised by Stop Climate Chaos, which NUS is a vocal partner, and called for a fast and fair deal when world leader meet in Copenhagen this week.
Marchers in London, most of which were wearing blue clothes and face paint, made their way towards the Houses of Parliament chanting slogans and blowing whistles, bearing placards saying "Climate Justice Now" and "Gordon Brown don’t let us down".
Susan Nash, Vice President (Society and Citizenship) said, "The Wave was a powerful demonstration of public concern. Students from across the country demonstrated alongside tens of thousands of people to call for immediate action in Copenhagen. Our member's message was loud and clear. We cannot delay action. We need a fair deal at Copenhagen.
Students have expressed their concern on the streets of London, directly to Ed Milband who we met on the day, and now we need to continue this demand throughout the crucial Copenhagen negotiations."
The Wave sent a strong message to Gordon Brown and other world leaders that we need at least a 40% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 (based on 1990 levels) from industrialised countries. The Prime Minister is proposing to go to the EU next weekend to ask for a 30% reduction, instead of the current EU target of 20%. If all the industrialised nations only made this 30% reduction, we'd be gambling on a 50:50 chance at best of keeping global warming below the 2 degrees 'C.
The Stop Climate Chaos protest was attended by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, who said:
"We want the most ambitious deal we can get at the climate change talks.” He continued, "we are taking to Copenhagen not just the commitment to reduce our emissions by 34 percent by 2020, but a commitment to do more ... We want to use our willingness to do more to push other countries - the United States, China, Australia, Japan, everyone - to be part of an ambitious agreement."
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