Thousands of environmental activists on Monday, April 15, 2019 paralysed parts of central London in the UK by blocking Marble Arch, Oxford Circus and Waterloo Bridge in a bid to force the government to do more to tackle climate change.
Under sunny skies, activists sang songs or held signs that read “There is no Planet B” and “Extinction is forever” at some of the capital’s most iconic locations.
Roadblocks will continue night and day at each site and the demonstrators say the protests could last at least a week.
The protests are being led by the British climate group Extinction Rebellion and will involve demonstrations in 33 countries around the world over the coming days.
“I realised that signing petitions and writing letters was not going to be enough.
“Real action is needed; it’s like a world war.
“We have to go on to a war footing,” Diana McCann, 66, a retired wine trader from south London, said, holding a banner in the middle of a traffic-free road.
Extinction Rebellion, which generated headlines with a semi-nude protest in the House of Commons earlier this month, has warned its members that some of them could be arrested for taking part in non-violent civil disobedience.
The group is demanding the government declare a climate and ecological emergency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025 and create a citizen’s assembly of members of the public to lead on decisions to address climate change.
At the Shell building near the River Thames, two protesters scaled up scaffolding writing `Shell Knows!’ in red paint on the front of the building and three protesters glued their hands to the revolving doors at the entrance.
Activists said they smashed the glass of a revolving door and caused over 6,000 pounds (7,900 dollars) worth of damage.
Meanwhile, no fewer than one person was arrested by police for criminal damage.
Climate change occurs when changes in Earth’s climate system result in new weather patterns that last for no less than a few decades, and maybe for millions of years.
The climate system comprised five interacting parts, the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere.
