Thousands march in Tokyo calling for action to combat climate change

Thousands marched on the streets of Tokyo Saturday to call attention to the need for more action to combat global warming, ahead of the Paris conference on climate change that will kick off next week in Paris.

Demonstrators chanting messages such as "Let's Protect Our Future!" and carrying placards with demands such as "Action for Climate Change Now!" walked along a prearrange route of just less than 2 km, from the popular Hibiya Park, not far from the nation's political hub in central Tokyo, to the upscale Ginza shopping district.

The march was part of a series of coordinated rallies held around the world and organized by regular citizens and environmental activist groups concerned about global warming.

"Renewable Energy Is The Future!" read one banner, carried by Tomo Sasaki, a 38-year-old environmental activist who said it was "time for the world to unite against global warming and set tangible goals to limit temperature rises."

The target of the Paris conference on climate change, as has been laid out by the U.N., is to put a cap on the average rate of global warming at two degrees Celsius, through endeavors such as cutting fossil fuel emissions often blamed for climate change.

"To hit the 2C goal, far more needs to be done by a number of countries, including Japan, or it's simply not realistic," said Kenji Watanabe, adding that, "Since the Fukushima crisis Japan itself has been producing excessive carbon emissions as it has been compensating for a lack of nuclear power by burning fossil fuels and has had to adjust its own emissions target." Endit