In the series of protests against climate change in the United Kingdom, 30 women locked themselves to the railings outside Britain’s Houses of Parliament on Sept. 9 (Thursday).
Extinction Rebellion, an organization, basing in the United Kingdom that aims actions against climate change, organized the revealing and intriguing protest.
A broad banner reading “Can’t bare the truth?” was displayed, and the female participants had words like “war,” “drought,” “starvation,” and “violence” painted on their bodies, which represents the consequences of Global Warming.
Some women even used metal D-locks, which are generally used to lock bicycles, to chain their necks to the parliament building’s railings.
The 30 brave women donned black colored masks to protect themselves against the coronavirus, which had “4℃” written on them, signifying the rise of the global temperature.
The full coverage of the protests that took place on Sept. 12 (Thursday) is available for streaming as a video on Mail Online.
Priti Patel, Secretary for the State for the Home Department, said that Extinction Rebellion is a group of eco-crusaders turned criminals whose guerilla tactics must be stopped.
Why are the protests happening?
The global movement, known by the name of “Extinction Rebellion” (XR), restarted its protests in the country just last week after its long hiatus due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
In a Reuters report, Extinction Rebellion took such a drastic move in the form of protests to create awareness in public. They claim that the average global temperature will rise by 4℃ by 2021 if countries choose not to take any actions.
Extinction Rebellion: previous protests
According to a report by BBC News, Extinction Rebellion describes itself as an international “non-violent civil disobedience activist movement.”
The organization was launched in 2018 and slowly became an international group known for facilitating protests in cities like Amsterdam, Berlin, New York, and Sydney.
Extinction Rebellion’s logo is an hourglass inside a circle, which means time is running out for many species because of climate change. It aims for zero carbon commissions by the year 2025.
In the United Kingdom, the group has three demands. First is that the government must declare a climate emergency; second, the country must legally commit to reducing the net carbon commissions to zero; and third, that a citizens’ assembly must be formed to overlook the changes.
The aims put forward are not entirely realistic, though, given that reducing CO2 emissions to zero in just five years is highly ambitious.
Image courtesy of Roschetzky Photography/Shutterstock