'Pausing is madness': Climate march to be held in Brussels on 3 December

A climate march will be held on 3 December in Brussels, organised by the non-profit organisation Climate Coalition.

“We still do not have an agreement on the distribution of efforts between the Belgian governments,” said the NGO’s vice president Zanna Vanrenterghem.

“This has implications for our domestic action, but also for our contribution to international climate finance. We must prevent the least ambitious government from blocking the process each time.”

Climate Coalition is a group of dozens of organisations, including trade unions and environmental movements, lobbying around climate policy.

They are asking all political leaders to work towards an effective and just response, saying the climate crisis should be the top priority of the next government.

With the 1.5°C warming limit getting closer, they say the climate crisis needs to be addressed more than ever: “Every tenth of a degree counts.”

The Climate Coalition is asking for a constructive political debate that addresses the problems in a socially just manner.

“A pause button is socio-economic madness and dramatic for biodiversity,” said Vanrenterghem. “Further muddling along in the climate margin is not an option.”

The organisation is also calling for large-scale investments in public transport and cycling infrastructure. At the European level, the Climate Coalition wants to see the “most ambitious possible version of the Nature Restoration Act”.

To finance those investments, the coalition advocates, among other things, the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies. In Belgium, an average of €13 billion a year goes towards this, according to the coalition.

They also say that Belfius should be transformed into a public climate bank and are asking for reform of Belgium's climate policy.