A group of Christian Aid activists arrive in the capital this weekend at the end of a 1,000 mile Cut the Carbon march from Northern Ireland to London that has brought the issue of climate change to the doorsteps of local people and to businesses and MPs across the country.
A core team of 18 marchers from the UK and the developing world left Bangor in Northern Ireland on 14 July.
The march arrives in central London this Monday and will be welcomed to the capital by senior Bishops and then the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, who will join the march along the Thames outside City Hall.
A delegation from the marchers will go to Downing Street with shoelaces collected from along the route from members of the public who had swapped them for Christian Aid Cut the Carbon shoelaces to demonstrate their support for the issue.
On Tuesday, hundreds of supporters are to join the marchers for their final mile from Tooley Street near Tower Bridge past the London Stock Exchange to St Paul’s Cathedral, where there will be a rally at 1.00pm and then a service at 2.00pm. Supporters and members of the public are welcome to come along.
Tim Jones, 26, a walker and World Development Movement activist from Herne Hill, London, said: “We’ve reached out to thousands of people to inspire them to campaign to tackle climate change and have delivered a powerful message to the government that it must act justly by reducing our emissions.”
The oldest UK walker is 68 year-old Hereford grandmother, Merryn Hellier, while other marchers include a businessman and South African bishop, who has walked in his cassock.
