SCORES of Rugbeians have taken to the streets of London to take part in a climate change protest.
Members of the Rugby branch of Extinction Rebellion have joined groups from around the UK for the October Rebellion – expected to be the largest act of civil disobedience in UK history.
Protesters say they want to ‘close the capital’ by occupying 11 sites in central London, to press the government to take urgent action on the climate emergency.
Rich Brook, a spokesman for the Rugby group, said: “The protest is designed to peacefully shutdown Westminster until the government takes meaningful steps to meet Extinction Rebellion’s core demands.
“These are – to tell the truth as to the extent of the crisis, to act now on halting biodiversity loss and achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2025, and to establish citizen’s assemblies to decide the course of action on the climate crisis.”
The Metropolitan Police said at 3.20pm on Tuesday (October 8) there had been 471 total arrests over two days.
Rugby protester Christine Rundle said: “I’m not happy doing this. I’m way out of my comfort zone, but when I look at my grandsons and see the hope and excitement about their futures in their eyes, I could weep.
“How can I do nothing?”
Fellow Rugbeian Helen Essex said: “The scientific community agrees, my children’s future will be insecure in terms of access to food and basic resources.
“Their chance to live in peace, stability and in relative good health will be severely at risk.
“I need to be able to look them in the eye and know I have done everything I can to try and prevent it, and persuade those with the power to change this to embrace the necessary changes for all our futures.”
Extinction Rebellion activists are protesting in cities around the world, including Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam and Sydney. The protest began on Monday (October 7) and is expected to run for a minimum of two weeks.
Visit www.rugbyxr.org.uk for more information on Rugby Extinction Rebellion.
