Florida Rallies for Paris Climate Agreement

St Petersburg Rally

On November 28 and 29, Floridians joined people from all around the world, in more than 200 countries, to rally in support of the Paris talks to fight climate change. The talks ended in an agreement last week, which Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune called "a turning point for humanity." 

In the Tampa Bay area, hundreds of climate activists joined rallies in St. Petersburg and across the bay in Tampa. 

At the Tampa Rally, Andrew Rock, from the Tampa Bay Climate Action Network, asked that elected officials stop the partisanship and work together to solve the world's biggest crisis. 

Tampa Rally (photo credit WFLA)

Sierra Club's Tampa Bay Group Chair Kent Bailey said sea level rise is already affecting his boating experience on Tampa Bay.  Dr. Lynn Ringenberg, Florida president of the Physicians for Social Responsibility, urged Florida leaders to create a strong Clean Power Plan to cut our carbon.

French Consul Karine Aumon in Miami accepts a letter
urging strong global carbon reductions.
(Source: Jon Ullman)

In Miami, activists led by 350 South Florida marched over to the French Consulate on Brickell Avenue and presented a letter of support of the COP21 talks to Deputy Consul Karine Aumont.

Sierra Club's Jonathan Ullman was quoted by WLRN saying he hoped that COP21 will lead to meaningful action.  "We'd like to see a strong agreement...We'd like to see there be a set of commitments to reduce carbon, to achieve the levels scientists say are necessary to avoid a climate catastrophe."

Media
WFLA's coverage of the Tampa Rally.
WLRN's coverage of the Miami Rally.

Here's a video from the November 28 march in St. Petersburg:


Climate March, St. Petersburg, Florida from green thing on Vimeo.


And here's a video reading the letter to the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius and coverage from all the Florida rallies: