`We are watching you:' Marchers urge faster climate action

Police helicopters were buzzing above Glasgow, Scotland, for a second day of protests outside the U.N. climate summit

GLASGOW, Scotland -- Cheering and marching to the beat of drums, tens of thousands of climate activists paraded Saturday through the streets of the Scottish city hosting the U.N. climate summit, demanding that governments step up actions to reduce the use of climate-warming fossil fuels that are damaging the planet.

The mood in Glasgow was upbeat despite bursts of rain and the crowd was peaceful. Protesters condemned government leaders around the world for climate talks that activists say have so far failed to produce the fast action needed. Climate protests were also held in other cities across Europe, including London, Paris, Dublin, Copenhagen, Zurich and Istanbul.

“We're having these conversations, but there's no policies to actually back them,” said Daze Aghaji, a marcher from London at the Glasgow demonstration, shouting over the steady beat of the drums.

“And on top of that, the real people should be in the room," Aghaji said, echoing complaints from climate advocates that the Glasgow summit has too sharply limited participation by the public. “How are we expecting to make decent policy when the people who are the stakeholders of this aren't even present in the room?”