A message was painted on the bike lanes of Avenida Defensores de Chaves and Avenida Almirante Reis during a weekend of climate marches around the world on the sidelines of COP26.
On the pretext of march for climate justice which this Sunday toured the Almirante Reis Avenue and brought together close to a thousand people, a group of activists decided to leave a very clear message at bike lane on that avenue and also on the Avenida Defensores de Chaves: "This cycle path fights climate change".
According to the group explained to Lisboa Para Pessoas, the message was painted during the night of Saturday the 6th to be ready for the weather demonstration the following day. The painting, made with spray It can be found at the beginning and end of each of the bike lanes and also at some important intersections, such as Plaza de Chile or the intersection of Defensores de Chaves and Duque D'Ávila.
To Lisboa Para Pessoas, the group of activists - who assured that they were not part of the organization of the climate march - explained that the action recalls "the immense challenge of combating climate change and the role of cities and the use of individual car transport in this fight"and said that it was essential "to send a message to politicians, especially those who have taken on the role of 'energy transition and climate change' and at the same time promised to remove cycle paths".
The small collective is concerned that some of Lisbon's cycle paths could be removed or altered by the new city council, particularly those on Almirante Reis and Defensores de Chaves, which would mean a step backwards in the city's fight against climate change. Those involved guarantee that they will be able to extend the protest markings to other cycle paths in the city.
The message "This cycle path fights climate change" was inspired by a similar initiative shared by the team at urban design consultancy Copenhagenize, which is being replicated in several cities in the context of COP26 - the 26th United Nations Climate Change Summit, which runs until November 12 in Glasgow, Scotland.
