The People's Climate March (PCM) was a large-scale
activist
Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...
event orchestrated by the
People's Climate Movement to advocate global action against
climate change
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
, which took place on Sunday, September 21, 2014, in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, along with a series of companion actions worldwide, many of which also took the name People's Climate March. With an estimated 311,000 participants, the New York event was the largest climate change march in history.
Described as "an invitation to change everything," the march was called in May 2014 by the global advocacy human rights group
Avaaz
Avaaz is a US-based nonprofit organization launched in 2007 that promotes global activism on issues such as climate change, human rights, animal rights, corruption, poverty, and conflict. The word ''avaaz'' means 'voice' in several Asian and E ...
and
350.org, the
environmental
Environment most often refers to:
__NOTOC__
* Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...
organization founded by writer/activist
Bill McKibben
William Ernest McKibben (born December 8, 1960)"Bill Ernest McKibben." ''Environmental Encyclopedia''. Edited by Deirdre S. Blanchfield. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, December 31, 2017. is a ...
,
and it was endorsed by "over 1,500 organizations, including many international and national unions, churches, schools and community and
environmental justice
Environmental justice is a social movement that addresses injustice that occurs when poor or marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit. The movement has gene ...
organizations." It was conceived as a response to (but ''not'' a protest against)
the scheduled U.N.
Climate Summit of world leaders to take place in New York City two days later, on September 23.
Although based in New York, the event was global in scope and implication, with "companion demonstrations" worldwide.
Organizers intended the march to be "the largest single event on climate that has been organized to date… one so large and diverse that it cannot be ignored."
The entire PCM project consisted of "numerous events, actions, symposia, presentations, and more organized over the course of the days leading up to the Summit, and in the days following," of which the march was intended to be "the anchor event."
Worldwide, nearly 600,000 people were estimated to have marched on September 21, including those in New York.
Public invitation to the march
On May 21, McKibben published an article on the website of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' magazine (later appearing in the magazine's print issue of June 5), entitled "A Call to Arms,"
which invited readers to a major climate march in New York City for the weekend of September 20–21.
[Both dates were mentioned in the McKibben article because it was not certain at the time which one would be the date on which the march would actually take place. After later negotiations with New York City authorities, the event planners chose Sunday the 21st as the definitive date.] In the article, McKibben calls climate change "the biggest crisis our civilization has ever faced," and predicts that the march will be "the largest demonstration yet of human resolve in the face of climate change."
After criticizing world leaders, including
President Obama, for not moving fast enough or going far enough to combat climate change, McKibben cites increasing evidence of environmental deterioration, including the melting of Arctic and Antarctic ice, the
acidification of the oceans, and violent weather and quotes one climate scientist as exclaiming "We're all sitting ducks." He blames this state of affairs primarily on the fossil-fuel industry, which "by virtue of being perhaps the richest enterprise in human history, has been able to delay effective action, almost to the point where it's too late." Although he claims that local, small-scale activism is crucial, the global
climate justice
Climate justice is a type of environmental justice that focuses on the unequal impacts of climate change on marginalized or otherwise vulnerable populations. Climate justice seeks to achieve an equitable distribution of both the burdens of clima ...
movement sometimes "needs to come together and show the world how big it's gotten," and to allow for "opening up space for change." Writes McKibben: "A loud movement – one that gives our 'leaders' permission to actually lead, and then scares them into doing so – is the only hope of upending" the "prophecy" that it's already too late to reverse the problem.
Staging area and route
The
staging area
A staging area (otherwise staging base, staging facility, staging ground, staging point, or staging post) is a location in which organisms, people, vehicles, equipment, or material are assembled before use. It may refer to:
* In aviation, a desi ...
in which marchers for the New York City event were to assemble on the morning of September 21, as agreed upon by the march organizers and local authorities, was located in a blocked-off area of
Central Park West
Eighth Avenue is a major north–south avenue on the west side of Manhattan in New York City, carrying northbound traffic below 59th Street. It is one of the original avenues of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 to run the length of Manhattan, ...
between 59th and 86th Streets, north of
Manhattan's Columbus Circle
Columbus Circle is a traffic circle and heavily trafficked intersection in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eighth Avenue, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway, ...
, which is the official starting point of the march.
The area was divided into six sections, and participating groups were to gather in the particular section appropriate to the mission and purpose of each group. These were:
* "Frontline" groups ("Frontlines of Crisis, Forefront of Change"), located between 59th and 65th Streets – This area includes those people who are first and
most impacted by climate change, including
indigenous peoples
There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
, environmental justice organizations and other communities;
* Generational groups ("We Can Build the Future"), located between 65th and 72nd Streets – This area includes
labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
organizations, families – parents and their children, students, elders, etc.;
* Environmental groups ("We Have Solutions"), located between 72nd and 77th Streets – This area includes
renewable energy
Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
,
food and water justice and general
environmental organization
An environmental organization is an organization coming out of the conservation or environmental movements
that seeks to protect, analyse or monitor the environment against misuse or degradation from human forces.
In this sense the environme ...
s;
* Protest groups ("We Know Who Is Responsible"), located between 77th and 81st Streets – This area includes
anti-corporate
Anti-corporate activism is activism directed against the private sector, particularly larger corporations. It is based on the belief that the activities and impacts of big business are detrimental to the public good and the democratic process.
...
and
peace and justice groups as well as similar organizations;
*Science ("The Debate Is Over"), located between 81st and 82nd Streets – This area includes scientists,
interfaith groups and related organizations;
* Interfaith group, (Lutheran, Hindu), located on 58th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues.
* Miscellaneous groups ("To Change Everything, We Need Everyone"), located between 82nd and 86th Street – This area includes
LGBTQ
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...
groups and various geographic entities, including New York City boroughs and communities, other U.S. city and state groups and groups from non-U.S. countries.
The drop-off point for charter buses of marchers arriving from other places in the U.S. was on 86th Street between Broadway and Central Park West.
The staging area is most easily accessible by subway via the
1 line (66th, 72nd and 79th Street stops) and the
C line (72nd, 81st and 86th Street stops).
There were only five permitted entry points to the staging area; all other streets were blocked off. The five permitted entry points were 65th, 72nd, 77th, 81st and 86th Streets.
It was anticipated by some organizers that parts or all of the staging area might be closed off by the police well before the march is due to begin at 11:30 am, which means that those who arrive late in the morning might be placed at the rear of the march. In addition, those who leave the area before the march begins might not be permitted by the police to return. Therefore, some organizers advised marchers to arrive with sufficient food, water and sunscreen, as, after a certain point, they might not be able to leave the area.
The march began at 11:30 am at Manhattan's Columbus Circle. The march itinerary included 59th Street (moving east), 6th Avenue (moving south), 42nd Street (moving west) and 11th Avenue (moving south), ending at 34th Street and 11th Avenue, near the
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, commonly known as the Javits Center, is a large convention center on Eleventh Avenue between 34th Street and 38th Street in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by architect James In ...
.
Peripheral events
A number of peripheral events were planned for before, during or after the weekend of the march. They included the following:
Great March for Climate Action
The
Great March for Climate Action consists of a cross-country march from
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California, to
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, which began on March 1, 2014, and is scheduled to conclude on November 1, 2014. The march participants plan to take part in the PCM by interrupting their march for four days and traveling by bus from
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
to New York City. The purpose of the convergence is to combine two historic climate marches – the largest (PCM) and the longest (The Great March). The marchers plan to return to Ohio beginning on the evening of September 21, hopefully bringing with them hundreds of new marchers from the PCM for the final six weeks of their journey. The Great March is scheduled to end just prior to the November 5 American
mid-term elections.
''Disruption'' (movie)
''Disruption'' is a film, approximately 52 minutes long, directed by Kelly Nyks and Jared P. Scott,
which is being screened at various public venues, as well as in self-hosted screenings (for example, in libraries, campuses and community centers) on September 7, 2014, exactly two weeks before the People's Climate March, and on subsequent dates prior to the march.
The film was partly produced by the organization 350.org, which called the PCM.
On the evening of September 7, one of the free public screenings, which will take place at
The New School
The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, "will include a follow-up Q&A with some of the climate movement's most recognized leaders, some of whom are featured in the film."
According to 350.org, the film's title refers to "the dangerous environmental tipping points after which the entire climate system could spiral out of control, as well as the need for a mass social movement to disrupt the status quo and business-as-usual approach which is inhibiting the bold actions necessary to protect the planet's future."
According to the event organizers, the film "takes the viewer on a fast-paced journey through the tangled world of climate change: the science, the politics, the solutions, and the stories that define this crisis at this pivotal point in human history. This is a movie by and for the movement." The film also seeks to answer the question "When it comes to climate change, why do we do so little when we know so much?"
The film also argues that the environment crisis impacts other movements, such as that for social justice, as marginalized people stand to suffer most from the ravages of climate change. In a clip from the film, Eddie Bautista, executive director for the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance and one of the PCM's leading organizers, states, "This is not just about the environment, it's about the community, it's about jobs, it's about justice."
Author
Naomi Klein
Naomi Klein (born May 8, 1970) is a Canadian author, social activist, and filmmaker known for her political analyses; support of ecofeminism, organized labour, and criticism of corporate globalization, fascism and Criticism of capitalism, ca ...
says in the film, "We have a responsibility to rise to our historic moment."
The film can be viewed online.
New York City Climate Convergence
The New York City Climate Convergence is a coalition formed by two political activist environmental organizations, System Change Not Climate Change (SCNCC) and the Global Climate Convergence (GCC). During the weekend of the climate march, the organization will hold two plenaries and a number of workshops that will focus on what the organizers claim are the economic causes of climate change, and on ways in which the system can be altered, so that the world will begin to value "people, planet and peace over profit." According to the coalition's website, the "GCC recently rose to prominence when it organized a series of climate actions connecting to the labour and environmental movements (the social and ecological) in a campaign called 'Mother Earth Day to May Day 2014.' SCNCC, an 'ecosocialist' coalition arose out of multiple socialist and activists
icorganizations in the aftermath of
Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy) was an extremely large and devastating tropical cyclone which ravaged the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late ...
which devastated New York city
ic"
The coalition, as well as other groups espousing various forms of direct action, has been cited as furnishing "opportunities to build a stronger and more effective climate justice movement." The coalition is demanding:
* "Millions of jobs in renewable energy, conservation, and public transit
* A
just transition
Just transition is a concept that emerged in the 1980s through efforts by U.S. trade unions to protect workers' rights and livelihoods as economies shift to sustainable production, primarily protecting workers affected by environmental regulati ...
from fossil fuels and nuclear power
* New food, water, and sanitation systems
* An emergency transition to a new kind of economy
* Tax the rich and slash the military budget."
The Opening Plenary for the New York City Climate Convergence, to be held on Friday evening, September 19 in midtown Manhattan, will include as speakers
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
n
water rights
Water right in water law is the right of a user to use water from a water source, e.g., a river, stream, pond or source of groundwater. In areas with plentiful water and few users, such systems are generally not complicated or contentious. In o ...
activist
Oscar Olivera
Oscar Olivera Foronda (born 1955) is a Bolivian union leader who was one of the main leaders of the protesters against the water privatization in Bolivia. The result of these protests was an event known as the Cochabamba Water War. He was also one ...
, Philippine
trade union
A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
ist leader Josua Mata, Erica Violet Lee of the
indigenous rights group
Idle No More,
hip hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
artist and activist
Immortal Technique
Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), known artistically as Immortal Technique, is an American rapper, activist and songwriter. His lyrics are largely commentary on issues such as politics, religion, institutional racism, and govern ...
, Anne Petermann of the Global Justice Ecology Project and Nastaran Mohit of the New York State Nurses Association. The Closing Plenary, to be held on the following night, will include as speakers the well-known author and activist Naomi Klein (''
The Shock Doctrine''),
Jacqui Patterson of the
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
Environmental & Climate Justice Program, Desmond D'Sa, the 2014 Goldman Prize recipient from
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
and Olga Bautista of the Southeast Side Coalition Against Petcoke. Workshops will also be held during the day on September 20.
Flood Wall Street
The day after the People's Climate March, on September 22, several thousand protesters participated in Flood Wall Street, which blocked traffic in New York's Financial District for much of the day. The action was presented as a response to a call by the Climate Justice Alliance, a network of groups on the front-lines of climate change, to call corporate America to account for its role in pollution. Explaining the rationale, journalist (and Flood Wall Street participant)
Nathan Schneider
Nathan Schneider (born 1984) is an American scholar and former journalist, who specializes in economic justice in the online economy. Since 2015, he has been a professor of media studies at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Writing on relig ...
wrote in ''Al Jazeera America'', "Climate change is war – and Wall Street is winning." Approximately 100 people were arrested by the end of the day, of which 10 faced trial and were found not guilty on March 5, 2015.
Other global actions
Major global marches

The BBC reported an estimated 600,000 people turned out for events in 156 countries. The following are other major global marches related to the PCM. Organizers urged those in the geographic vicinity of one of the following marches who had transportation access to that place, to attend that particular march, rather than start a new, smaller one. (Please note: all times and locations are for Sunday, September 21, unless otherwise noted.)
*
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, 4:00 PM (Berlin time); start:
Brandenburg Gate
The Brandenburg Gate ( ) is an 18th-century Neoclassical architecture, neoclassical monument in Berlin. One of the best-known landmarks of Germany, it was erected on the site of a former city gate that marked the start of the road from Berlin t ...
; end:
Potsdamer Platz
Potsdamer Platz (, ''Potsdam Square'') is a public square and traffic intersection in the center of Berlin, Germany, lying about south of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag building, Reichstag (Bundestag, German Parliament Building), and ...
*
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
, 10:00 am (Bogotá time); start: Parque Nacional; end: Plaza de los Periodistas
*
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, 9:00 am, Saturday, September 20 (New Delhi time); Central Delhi (start and end locations undetermined)
*
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
, 11:00 am, Saturday, September 20 (Istanbul time); start: Tobacco Warehouse Lüleci Hendek Street No.12
*
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
, 7:30 PM, Friday, September 19 (Johannesburg time); start: 2 Miriam Makeba Drive,
Newtown
*
Lagos
Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
, 10:00 am, Monday, September 22 (Lagos time); start:
Alausa, Lagos
*
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, 12:30 PM (London time); start: Temple Place; end: Parliament House
*
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
: 30,000 people marched through the CBD, from the State Library to Treasury Gardens.
*
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, 2:00 PM (Paris time); start:
Place de la République
The Place de la République (; English: Republic Square; known until 1879 as the Place du Château d'Eau, ) is a square in Paris, located on the border between the 3rd, 10th and 11th arrondissements. The square has an area of .Warner, p. 250 ...
; end:
Hôtel de Ville Metro station
*
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
, 10:30 am (Rio time); start:
Ipanema
Ipanema () is a neighbourhood located in the South Zone (Rio de Janeiro), South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, Leblon and Arpoador. The beach at Ipanema became known internationally with the populari ...
, Posto 8
See also
*
Environmental politics
Environmental politics designate both the politics about the environmentAndrew Dobson, ''Environmental Politics: A Very Short Introduction'', Oxford University Press, 2016 (). and an academic field of study focused on three core components:Cart ...
*
IPCC Fifth Assessment Report
The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the fifth in IPCC#Assessment reports, a series of such reports and was completed in 2014.IPCC (2014The IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report (A ...
*
List of environmental protests
*
March for Science (22 April 2017)
*
Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...
*
Politics of global warming
The politics of climate change results from different perspectives on how to respond to climate change. Global warming is driven largely by the emissions of greenhouse gases due to human economic activity, especially the burning of fossil fuel ...
Notes
References
External links
People's Climate Week – NYC
People's Climate March – Global Mobilisation
{{DEFAULTSORT:People's Climate March, 2014
2014 in the environment
2014 protests
Protest marches in New York City
Protests in the United States
Climate change protests
Environmental protests in the United States