On Sunday, 5 October 2025, the Climate March made its way through the streets of Brussels. Over a five-kilometre route from the North Station to the Cinquantenaire, citizens raised their voices in favour of stronger climate action. According to the organisers, 30,000 people took part, while the police estimate the turnout at 20,000. The most striking slogan of the march—addressed directly to the country’s political decision-makers—was: “Invest in our planet, not in its destruction.”

But what does “investing in the destruction of the planet” actually mean? In Belgium today, around €15 billion in taxpayers’ money is spent each year on subsidising the use of fossil fuels such as gas, oil, kerosene and heating oil.

When fossil fuels are used—and therefore burned—CO₂, a greenhouse gas, is released into the atmosphere. This CO₂ forms a kind of “blanket” around the Earth, preventing heat from escaping. As a result, heat is trapped and the planet gradually warms.

This warming leads to a wide range of consequences. Extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, forest fires, storms, heavy rainfall and floods are becoming more frequent. At the same time, ecosystems are weakening, biodiversity is declining, crops are failing, and heat stress and heat-related mortality are increasing. Damage to infrastructure is rising, climate migration is intensifying, and economic costs continue to grow.

Families with children

A key issue raised by the demonstrators during the Climate March was therefore the use of vast amounts of public money to subsidise and further encourage fossil fuel consumption, while the resulting CO₂ emissions disrupt the climate and cause widespread harm. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Brussels to protest this, including families with children, associations, NGOs, health insurance funds, youth organisations, and many others.

They are calling on political leaders to stop channelling this enormous volume of public resources towards major polluters and harmful systems, and instead to invest these funds in sustainable technologies that benefit both human health and the planet.

More than 100

The Climate March was organised by the Climate Coalition, a collective of more than 100 Belgian organisations. Its aim is to keep climate issues high on the political agenda and to build social and political support for measures to address the climate crisis.

Unlike in 2025, no Climate March was organised in Brussels in 2024. Images from the 2023 edition, however, can be found here and here.