Climate change: Extinction Rebellion protests target London's financial district
The Extinction Rebellion group ended eleven days of protests by targeting London's financial district, known as the City. Protesters blocked traffic and entrances to banks, the Treasury, and the London Stock Exchange.
No we can't
Extinction Rebellion, started last year by British academics, ended 11 days of massive disruptions in London by targeting the financial district known as the City. Activists, who are calling for zero emissions by 2025, say investors and traders in the district are making huge profits at the environment's expense.
Profiting from ecological destruction
Protesters glued themselves to one another and to the entrance of the London Stock Exchange Thursday. A statement released by the group read: "Many of the most environmentally destructive companies in the world have their stock market listings at the London Stock Exchange (LSE). This institution literally trades in the destruction of our planet."
A call for action
Protesters are demanding the British government recognize the dire state of the environment and declare a climate and ecological emergency to prevent the further extinction of life forms and environmental degradation. They are also calling for the creation of a public citizen's assembly to address solutions to climate change.
Stock prices hotter than global warming
The use of fossil fuels is widely seen as one of the biggest contributors to global warming, resulting in rising sea levels, violent weather, forced migration, death and destruction. Still, the world's biggest banks have invested some €1.75 trillion ($1.95 trillion) in fossil fuels since the Paris Climate Agreement was adopted three years ago.
Sticky problem
Police arrested 1,130 people over the course of the protests, 69 will face criminal charges. Protesters engaged in non-violent acts of civil disobedience such as gluing themselves to buildings, buses, trains, one another, and the street. One protester said: "Some people don't like our methods, but do like our message. What we say is: We're not here to be liked. We're here to get attention."
'Something greater than us'
Retired parole officer Phil Kingston celebrated his 83rd birthday by climbing atop a train at Canary Wharf during rush hour. He said: "I'm here because I have the belief that there is something greater than us, which tells me that we don't own this earth. The more we take, the less there is for future generations."