Thousands marched in the Brazilian city of Belem on Saturday, as the UN’s COP30 climate conference marks its halfway point.

Organizers dubbed the event the “Great People’s March.” 

The mass mobilization comes after two Indigenous-led protests that disrupted the climate conference earlier in the week.

On Saturday, demonstrators marched 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) through the city. 

Environmental activists were joined by Indigenous people holding banners, flags, chanting slogans, and blasting music from speakers. 

The last such protest at the UN’s annual climate summit took place four years ago at COP26 in Glasgow. 

The last three annual gatherings were held in Egypt, Dubai and Azerbaijan, whose governments were not friendly to protests during the conference.

COP30 in Belem will run through Friday and environmental activists are hoping some progress can be made on the issue of climate change and its adverse effects, particularly io vulnerable communities.

Parallel to the UN meeting, the “People’s Summit” is also being held at the university in Belem, with hundreds of NGOs, environmentalist movements and networks from Brazil and abroad gathering there. The activist roundtable has met during the UN summit since 2023.

At the rally, demonstrators renewed demands for reparations paid for damage caused by corporations and governments seen as responsible for the earth’s warming, to poor and marginalized communities, which have a much smaller effect on the climate.

Some marchers dressed in black, to signify a funeral for fossil fuels, a main contributor to climate change. 

Demonstrators paraded three coffins marked with the words “coal,” “oil” and “gas.”

In an ode to the many deaths of environmentalist activists, hundreds of protesters wore red shirts, symbolizing the blood they have shed to protect the environment.

Protesters also held a flag of Brazil emblazoned with the words “Protected Amazon,” in reference to the Amazon Rainforest, a crucial tool in the fight against carbon emissions, which is threatened by deforestation and commercial farming. 

Edited by: Sean Sinico