A family attend the Global Day of Action at parliament square in Copenhagen, capital of Denmark, on December 12, 2009. [Xinhua]

Tens of thousands of climate activists from different countries rallied in central Copenhagen on Saturday to highlight the need for sealing a "real deal" in the UN-led climate change talks.

The rally came as ministers were arriving for the higher segment of the talks that are tasked with achieving goals to avoid irreversible change in climate that scientists warn could be disastrous to the Earth.

The activists converged on the city's Parliament Square, holding banners and listening to passionate speakers. "There is no Planet B," one of the banners read.

In a symbol of their call for countries to go environment-friendly, some demonstrators were clad in green and wearing green helmets.

Some activists called on rich nations to commit to deep emission cuts and deliver on pledges of financial and technological support to help developing nations adapt to climate change.

"The world wants a real deal," another banner said.

Xiaojun Wang, chief media officer of the China branch of environmental group Greenpeace, a major organizer of the rally, told Xinhua that at least 50,000 people were taking part in the rally.

The crowd later marched towards the venue of the UN climate change conference, the Bella Center on the outskirts of the Danish capital.

Inside the conference center, the call was also becoming increasingly loud for rich nations to deliver on their pledges.

The call for funding was partly answered on Friday with European Union leaders pledging 2.4 billion euros (US$3.5 billion) annually from 2010 to 2012 to help developing countries tackle global warming.

Developing nations still view the pledge as a far cry from their needs. Lumumba Di-Aping, the Sudanese chairman of Group of 77 and China, a group of developing countries, described it as "insignificant."

Ministers in Copenhagen have a week to work for agreement on two draft texts that were prepared by the chairs of two major working groups of the conference before 110 heads of state and government convene.

China's Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei said Friday: "The final document we're going to adopt needs to be taking into account the needs and aspirations of all countries," particularly the most vulnerable ones, he said.

Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, developed nations are committed to quantified emission reduction targets and provision of support in financing, technology and capacity building to developing nations. The Chinese minister said climate change is "a matter of survival" for developing nations.

Developing nations are asking the rich nations to up their emissions reduction targets and financial pledges.

The issue of financial support is "extremely important" as developing nations are "worst hit" by climate change, he said.

He lamented the lack of mid-term and long-term funding commitments from developed nations as only short-term funding, such as a three-year target, was being proposed.

The key to the success of the Copenhagen talks is for developed countries to keep their promises, he said.

"I would urge all leaders from developed countries to keep their promises, to have the future of humanity in their minds, especially the large population out there in the developing world," he said.

He also said China has "a responsible and pragmatic vision" for tackling climate change and will do its share in the global combat against climate change.

China last month announced it would reduce the intensity of carbon emissions per unit of its GDP in 2020 by 40 to 45 percent against 2005 levels.

(Xinhua News Agency December 13, 2009)