Three thousand people in Sydney, Australia braved the rain to call for stronger action on global warming as part of the National Day of Climate Action.

Rallies were held in cities across the country.

The Australian government led by Prime Minister Tony Abbot began the process of abolishing the carbon tax by introducing a bill to repeal it in parliament last Wednesday.

Abbot recently described attempts to link wildfires with climate change as “complete hogwash” because Australia is always prone to the fires.

Adam Bandt, Greens Party deputy leader, disagrees: “Global warming is affecting Australia right now and yes, he is right that we have always been a country prone to bushfires, so I say, why the hell would you wish more of them on us? And that is what is in store, unless we get global warming under control,” he told the crowd in Melbourne.

Meanwhile, around a thousand people marched in Warsaw, Poland where the UN climate change conference (COP19) is currently being held. The aim of the talks is to effectively implement previous COP decisions and progress towards a long-term global solution to confront global warming. The deal is due to be agreed in 2015 in Paris.