Sydney: Thousands of Australians protested against inaction on climate change on Sunday, converging on major cities to voice their discontent ahead of this week's national polls.
Thousands gathered in Sydney's business district for the annual “Walk Against Warming” rally and similar events were held in Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Darwin and Hobart.
“We feel that climate change is going to be a key issue for people going to the polls next Saturday,” said Pepe Clarke of the Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales.
“We've had enough of the delays, enough of the false promises. What we want to see is real action to curb carbon pollution in Australia in the next term of government.
Australia is the world's highest per capita producer of carbon emissions.
Climate change was a major issue in Australia's last election in 2007, but has failed to attract as much attention ahead of the August 21 polls.
Australia signed the United Nations' Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas pollution shortly after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was elected in November 2007.
But Mr. Rudd failed to get his carbon emissions trading scheme through a hostile parliament and the Labor government, now headed by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, has since put the legislation on the backburner until at least 2012.
