Extinction Rebellion activists made an eye-catching protest in York city centre this morning (Friday, 8 April).
Members of both Extinction Rebellion York (XRY) and Scarborough dropped a large banner from the city walls opposite York Station shortly after 10am.
It marks the start of this year’s April Rebellion, a mass gathering of climate activists in London.
Local activists will travel to London to be part of the Rebellion, while others will take part in actions to spread the message in York.
During the Rebellion, “activists will join with other local groups to disrupt and agitate business as usual in the capital”, the group said.
One unnamed York activist said: “I’m happy to be arrested for the Rebellion.
“The more we take action, the more we’ll make people think about the urgency of the situation and get them to challenge the systems in place.”
Extinction Rebellion’s local and national actions are directly linked to calls from IPCC to change policy, behaviour and working practices before climate change makes life on earth impossible to sustain.
“If anyone was wondering when the time for drastic action on climate was, the new IPCC report spells it out: it’s now,” says Cath Heinemeyer, activist and lecturer in Arts and ecological justice at York St John University.
“Extreme weather events are sounding the alarm more and more, wreaking havoc in people’s lives. We need to turn our back on fossil fuels and demand that governments and corporations put wellbeing before profits.”
The banner drop and following actions “will remind local people that amidst a sea of frightening international challenges, environmental breakdown threatens life on Earth more than any,” says XRY.
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