Two arrests as Extinction Rebellion protesters sit down in the middle of five Cambridge roads
Two protesters were arrested at the weekend as Extinction Rebellion (XR) Cambridge climate change activists took to five streets in the city to denounce the attempt to return to “business as usual - an economy racing towards irreversible, catastrophic climate collapse”.
Five individual campaigners staged sit-down protests on Saturday at Mitcham’s Corner, Mill Road, Downing Street, the Round Church and Trumpington Street. The action took place because “they are scared for their lives - and for all life on this planet”, said a spokesperson for the group.
One of the sit-down protesters, data scientist Dr Raluca Diaconu, said: “I am terrified to be in the road sitting in front of a chain of idling cars but it is more terrifying to face the consequences of climate breakdown. We are already seeing unprecedented fires burning forests with the animals in them, floods that displaced hundreds of families in the UK alone, and people starving because crops are failing. I’m afraid for my family’s and my own safety in the face of climate catastrophe.”
Donald Bell, whose controversial action at the Cenotaph made him a national talking point, was at Mitcham’s Corner with a placard reading: ‘I’m terrified for my grandson and the climate emergency.’
He said: “I am doing this because I am afraid, very afraid. This government has, it would seem, finally recognised that we are in a climate crisis but unfortunately their recently announced measures are nowhere near good enough.The UN has also agreed that this should be every nation’s top priority. A recent document by the MoD states quite clearly that the climate crisis will lead to war. So I am taking this action so that those in a position to do what really needs to be done take the appropriate action.”
Em, 20, bore a sign saying ‘I’m scared to grow old because of the climate crisis’.
She said: “I’m acting today because I have no idea what else to do. I’ve been on marches, I’ve written to politicians, I’ve signed what feels like every petition under the sun and still our leadership is not doing enough to make our future safe.
“The danger I feel sitting in the middle of a road is nothing compared to the danger that so many people in our world, the majority of whom contribute nothing to the destruction of our planet, face on a daily basis from storms, floods and drought. The physical harm I am risking is nothing compared to the mental weight of knowing what a warming world will be like to live in. I’m scared of growing old because I’m scared I’ll have to watch the Earth die before I do.”
Another, a trainee primary teacher, said of her action: “In my role as a teacher, I am responsible for children’s wellbeing and to help prepare them for their lives ahead. From the science available and the unprecedented temperature rises already happening globally it is clear how unsafe their future world is going to be.
“It is my indispensable duty as a teacher to highlight any threat to a child’s safety. In failing to act promptly and proportionately to the climate and ecological emergency, the UK government is criminally negligent in protecting children’s futures.”
Extinction Rebellion Cambridge said after the protest: “Today, five brave XR protesters risked their safety, each sitting alone in a separate Cambridge road.
“They did this because they are scared for their lives - and for all life on this planet. The end of Covid-19 is in sight, but for the politicians, it’s back to business as usual. We’ve just faced the biggest societal crisis since World War II - and the government has learnt nothing.
“Business as usual means an economy racing towards irreversible, catastrophic climate collapse.
“Already, we see millions dead from air pollution each year, a government-backed fossil fuel economy, and the destruction of nature for pointless vanity projects like HS2 that sound good but actually produce more emissions than they save.
“The government’s recently announced green plans represent 0.1 per cent of GDP in new money - a tenth of a percent for the biggest existential crisis humanity has ever faced.
“The Office of National Statistics says this is not enough to reduce UK emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 - the year the world needs to reach net zero.
“This year, hundreds of thousands of flights have been cancelled, traffic levels were near-zero for months, and coal use was at a record low in the UK and many countries. Despite this, global CO2 concentrations are the highest they’ve ever been. It’s quite clear that personal changes simply won’t cut it.
“Today, XR protesters caused a few hours of disruption in Cambridge because what else is going to make those in power sit up and take notice? We need a shock to the system because the system is killing us.”
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