Environmental activists sought to sow chaos in five British cities Monday in a bid to force the government to act to help avert what they cast as a climate cataclysm.
The Extinction Rebellion group disrupted London with 11 days of protests in April that it cast as the biggest act of civil disobedience in recent British history. Iconic locations were blocked, the Shell building defaced, trains stopped and Goldman Sachs targeted.
"This emergency mobilization of ordinary citizens, driven to action by the threat of climate breakdown and ecological collapse, will demand the government take immediate action to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gases to net zero by 2025," the group said.
It said it was holding protests in Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds and London. In each city, a large boat with the words "ACT NOW!" will be unveiled.
Bristol said it had closed Bristol Bridge due to the protests and South Wales Police said roads in Cardiff city center were blocked. Outside the Royal Courts of Justice in central London, activists parked a blue boat and sat on the road doing yoga.
"Through a host of non-violent protests, communities around the UK will be coming together to stage a series of creative acts of civil-disobedience – blocking specific locations, bridges and roads – while also holding talks, workshops, trainings, family friendly activities, peoples’ assemblies and more," Extinction Rebellion said.
Extinction Rebellion wants non-violent civil disobedience to force governments to cut carbon emissions and avert a climate crisis it says will bring starvation and social collapse.
It is a revolt against the extinction of species including, the group says, our own.
With largely peaceful stunts – such as blocking some of London's most iconic locations, smashing a door at the Shell building and shocking lawmakers with a semi-nude protest in parliament – the group has garnered massive publicity.
Reuters
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