Several protesters who blocked the roads outside the Houses of Parliament have been arrested for an “escalating campaign of civil disobedience”.
Uniting under the banner of “Extinction Rebellion”, thousands of activists made a “declaration of rebellion” against the government, accusing parliament of failing to take necessary action to address climate change.
Many protesters then went on to sit down in the road blocking traffic at one of London’s busiest intersections.
Vocal critics
Speakers at the rally included young climate activist Greta Thunberg and Donnachad Mccarthy from the Climate Media Coalition.
Mr Mccarthy made a speech condemning Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Budget for its failure to include climate change that was met with cries of “shame” from the crowd.
Other speakers included Labour MP Clive Lewis who made a passionate pledge to the protesters:
“The next Labour government is going to change the law so that the ones who go to jail in the future are the ones responsible for destroying the environment- not the ones protection it,” Mr Lewis said.
The Norwich South has been one of the most vocal critics of Chancellor Hammond’s budget, commenting in The Independent that “in the face of climate breakdown, Hammond’s business-as-usual Budget is its own form of extremism”.
“Non-violent, direct action”
Organisers of the event justified the disruption their protest had caused to London traffic, arguing that “this is an emergency situation and it needs an emergency response.”
Green MEP Molly Scott Cato who also made a speech defended the notion of ‘civil disobedience’, telling the crowd “when the law tells you to support something that your deep inner voice is fundamentally against, you should take non-violent, direct action.”
The protest came a day after the warning for scientist that humanity had already destroyed 60% of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles since 1970, threatening the future of human civilisation.
Fifteen- year-old Greta Thunberg, who travelled from Sweden for the protest, addressed the crowd asking them to think of her generation and the future they were leaving her.
Greta had made headlines earlier this summer for refusing to attend school in a bid to raise awareness of the climate crisis. She was just one of many young speakers who pleaded with parliaments around the globe to take climate change seriously.
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HeadlineFifteen arrested as environmental protesters rally at Parliament Square
Short Headline15 arrested in Parliament environmental protest
StandfirstMore than a 1,000 environmental activists gathered at London’s Parliament Square under the banner of ‘Extinction Rebellion'.
Several protesters who blocked the roads outside the Houses of Parliament have been arrested for an “escalating campaign of civil disobedience”.
Uniting under the banner of “Extinction Rebellion”, thousands of activists made a “declaration of rebellion” against the government, accusing parliament of failing to take necessary action to address climate change.
Many protesters then went on to sit down in the road blocking traffic at one of London’s busiest intersections.
Vocal critics
Speakers at the rally included young climate activist Greta Thunberg and Donnachad Mccarthy from the Climate Media Coalition.
Mr Mccarthy made a speech condemning Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Budget for its failure to include climate change that was met with cries of “shame” from the crowd.
Other speakers included Labour MP Clive Lewis who made a passionate pledge to the protesters:
“The next Labour government is going to change the law so that the ones who go to jail in the future are the ones responsible for destroying the environment- not the ones protection it,” Mr Lewis said.
The Norwich South has been one of the most vocal critics of Chancellor Hammond’s budget, commenting in The Independent that “in the face of climate breakdown, Hammond’s business-as-usual Budget is its own form of extremism”.
“Non-violent, direct action”
Organisers of the event justified the disruption their protest had caused to London traffic, arguing that “this is an emergency situation and it needs an emergency response.”
Green MEP Molly Scott Cato who also made a speech defended the notion of ‘civil disobedience’, telling the crowd “when the law tells you to support something that your deep inner voice is fundamentally against, you should take non-violent, direct action.”
The protest came a day after the warning for scientist that humanity had already destroyed 60% of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles since 1970, threatening the future of human civilisation.
Fifteen- year-old Greta Thunberg, who travelled from Sweden for the protest, addressed the crowd asking them to think of her generation and the future they were leaving her.
Greta had made headlines earlier this summer for refusing to attend school in a bid to raise awareness of the climate crisis. She was just one of many young speakers who pleaded with parliaments around the globe to take climate change seriously.
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