Thousands of people in six states joined protest walks yesterday urging the Australian Government to sign an international agreement intended to cut greenhouse transmissions.

The "Walk Against Warming" is part of an international campaign to coincide with the UN climate change talks in Montreal, Canada.

The 12 day talks are discussing the future of the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement that sets targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Australia and the US are the only western industrialised nations which have refused to sign the global Kyoto protocol, arguing it is damaging to their economic interests.

Yestday, hundreds of Sydneysiders showed their support for the agreement by marching from the city's Town Hall to Hyde Park.

In Melbourne hundreds more rallied around Albert Lake, while across Australia marches were held in Perth, Brisbane, Canberra and 13 regional centres across NSW and Queensland.

The protests, organised by Australia's major conservation groups including Greenpeace, WWF Australia and Environment Victoria, were part of an international day of action.

The walks coincide with one of the biggest environment campaigns in years, the Power to Change campaign, which will see environment groups go door-to-door asking people to switch to green power and reduce global warming pollution.

The program, already operating in Sydney was launched at the Melbourne rally yesterday.

Stephanie Long from Friends of the Earth in Brisbane said the global movement of activists and concerned citizens had chosen today to coincide with the first Meeting of the Parties of the Kyoto Protocol in Montreal.

"This international day of action was endorsed by the Assembly of Movements of the World Social Forum in January 2005 in recognition of the urgent need for serious movement building around climate change as a means of reclaiming democracy on the issue," Ms Long said.

Four walkers carried a huge giant sun puppet and others carried a 10 x 3 metre Kyoto Protocol banner, which they are calling on the community to sign.

The banner will travel throughout NSW before being presented to Prime Minister John Howard at Parliament House in Canberra, along with signatures from other states.

US: Rallies to focus on the climate

OLYMPIA, Washington: Activists took to the streets demanding urgent action on global warming across the United States and beyond, with hybrid car parades, parties and marches.

The demonstrations were planned to coincide with a 10-day United Nations Climate Change Conference being held in Montreal. There, the Bush administration has been criticized for refusing to sign on to international agreements that cap industrial emissions. President Bush has called for an 18 percent reduction in the U.S. growth rate of greenhouse gases by 2012 and has committed $5 billion a year to science and technology to address global warming.

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