LONDON: Oscar-winner Emma Thompson called on world leaders to grab the “historic” opportunity to reach a deal on tackling climate change as she joined thousands of environmental protesters in London on Sunday.

Singer Charlotte Church and fashion designer Vivienne Westwood were also among those braving the rain for the Hyde Park march as leaders from 150 countries gathered in Paris for the United Nations summit to hammer out a plan on reducing carbon dioxide emissions, which begins on Monday.

“I went to the Arctic with my daughter last year and saw for myself the degradation of the environment there and it made me and helped me understand in a much more visceral real way what was happening to the planet,” Thompson told AFP.

“So I’m here today to really get behind the climate summit in Paris which is actually a really historical event.

“We need those countries to come together and agree on protocols that will bring our fossil fuel emissions down to acceptable levels and we’re going to have to agree it quickly. This is the beginning.”

The London march was just one of more than 2,100 events worldwide planned for the Global Climate March.