Tens of thousands of people joined protests across the UK demanding more action on climate change as the COP26 summit heads into its second week.

In Glasgow, the wind and rain were not enough to deter environmental groups, charities, climate activists, trade unionists, and indigenous people gathering from around the world.

The latter represented many communities on the frontline of the climate crisis, whose homes are most at risk.

Police would not estimate how many people turned up, but the COP26 Coalition, which organised the protest, put the number at more than 100,000.

That makes it the biggest protest of the climate summit so far.

They also said that there were an estimated 300 events taking place worldwide.

Asad Rehman, spokesman for the COP26 Coalition, said: “Many thousands of people took to the streets today on every continent demanding that governments move from climate inaction to climate justice.

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“We won’t tolerate warm words and long-term targets any more, we want action now.”

COP26: Saturday’s events as they happened

People had hoped to hear Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg address the crowd in Glasgow, but the 18-year-old cancelled her speech.

It is understood she wanted to allow more space for indigenous people at the protest and others from marginalised backgrounds to be heard.

On Friday she had criticised leaders for talking but taking little action, dismissing the summit as “blah blah blah”.

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Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate spoke on Saturday, however, saying that communities such as hers were already feeling the effects of the warming climate.

“It’s already destruction. It’s already suffering. It’s already disaster. Any rise will only make things worse,” she said.

“Leaders rarely have the courage to lead. It takes citizens, people like you and me, to rise up and demand action. And when we do that in great enough numbers, our leaders will move.

“Until then, we must demand that our leaders treat the climate crisis like our crisis, we must demand that our leaders stop holding meaningless summits and start taking meaningful action.”

In London, thousands of people gathered at the Bank of England to march through the city.

They chanted “one solution”, and waved Extinction Rebellion banners saying “tell the truth”.

In Belfast, protesters marched through the city and held a rally at City Hall.

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At COP26 itself, actor Idris Elba was among those who spoke, saying leaders and policymakers need to hear from more diverse voices, or they risk ignoring a continent “central to the solution” of climate change.

The actor and his wife, model Sabrina Elba, were speaking at a COP26 event on sustainable food production.

Addressing the importance of diversity in the debate, Elba said hearing from African voices is vital.

He told Sky’s Ashna Hurynag: “Sabrina and I stand as human beings first, as part of this planet. But absolutely, yes, it’s important for us as proud Africans to be a part of this debate.”

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The Luther star and United Nations ambassador had invited Ms Nakate to speak at the event.

Referring to an instance when Ms Nakate was cropped from a photo of high-profile campaigners in Davos in 2020, Elba said it implied irrelevance.

“The media are not just cutting out Vanessa, they’re cutting out a whole continent. That continent is very central to this debate. It’s very central to the solutions,” he said.

“Africa is the only land mass in the world where you can create a huge, leadership city sustainably, led by young people. We’re in a position to influence now. So yes it’s important we have Vanessa, Idris, Sabrina, Agnes, everyone of colour speaking up for this debate because it’s right in the centre of it.”

For full coverage of COP26, watch Climate Live on Sky channel 525.

Follow live coverage on web and app with our dedicated live blog.

Get all the latest stories, special reports and in-depth analysis at skynews.com/cop26

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