The rallies coincided with the special United Nations  Climate Summit hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to engage leaders and advance climate action and ambition.

World leaders from 125 nations signed up to attend the Summit, but noticeable in his refusal to attend was our prime minister, Tony Abbott.

On Main Beach Forster around 100 people gathered for a photo to send a strong message that we need action, not just words, and certainly not denial that climate change is real. 

The crowd chanted 'dirty coal' with  thumbs pointing down, and arms high in the air in favour of renewable energy. Many people had signs with their particular message. 

Signs from past years were there too, a reminder that the community has been campaigning for the phasing out of fossil fuels for many, many years.

Against the background of a calm ocean there was a unanimous call for an increase in renewable energy and to stop using carbon dioxide producing fossil fuels. 

“The calm ocean wasn't telling its tragic tale of absorbing much of the carbon dioxide emissions leading to ocean acidification. Ocean acidification impacts on a huge variety of marine life, along with global warming expanding the oceans leading to sea level rise,” one of the organisers Jacqui Keats explained.

“There are many many impacts of global warming which need to be taken seriously, not just muttering words hoping to appease people.”

The UN  has expressed its concern that climate change is not a far-off problem. It is happening now and is having very real consequences on people’s lives.  But there is a growing recognition that affordable, scalable solutions are available now that will enable us to leapfrog to cleaner, more resilient economies.