Canadians hold rally in Vancouver calling for actions at Paris climate summit

Thousands of people marched in Canada's western city of Vancouver on Sunday afternoon, calling for actions on combating climate change ahead of Paris climate conference, which begins on Monday.

The rally was organized by 70 groups from across the Vancouver region, led by indigenous groups, faith leaders, students and various community organizations.

The march in Vancouver is just one of thousands of such events taking place on this day across the world, which called for a global political action on climate change and other environmental concerns.

Mary Lovell, the event organizer, said the march was organized as it was a really critical moment in human history to address the climate change.

"As there's very little being done by policy-makers about that, especially in Canada, so we're demanding the Canadian government make realistic policy and brings their best to the upcoming global talks," Lovell told Xinhua at the march.

The event attracted roughly 4,000 people from across a wide variety of backgrounds, interests and ages.

Barbara Seifred, an activist group member, said she was glad to see young people coming to join the march. "It's essential and they've got a big struggle on their hands. We've left them a real mess."

"The climate movement is really awesome that it's so intergenerational, and I mean you see little kids and you see like the right groups," said Danika Hammond, a member of climate advocacy group at the University of British Columbia.

"This problem isn't going away without action, and I think it's great to see everybody out here because it shows that we care and that we're not going to give up," Hammond said.

Leaders from more than 100 countries gathering in the French capital are pursuing an agreement to accelerate the global transition to a low-carbon economy. And the people here hope to do their part in making that happen. Endi