Who are Extinction Rebellion and why are they encouraging 'civil disobedience'?
Friday 11 October 2019 14:05, UK
Extinction Rebellion protesters are attempting to shut down Westminster as part of a fortnight of planned disruption to demand urgent action to tackle climate change.
Activists expect the demonstrations to be as much as five times bigger than those held in London in April, when more than 1,100 people were arrested over 11 days.
Protests are planned in major cities around the world, including Amsterdam, Berlin, New York and Sydney, according to organisers.
But who are Extinction Rebellion, why are they encouraging "civil disobedience" and how likely is it that their demands will be met?
Who are Extinction Rebellion?
Extinction Rebellion, or XR for short, describes itself as "an international movement that uses non-violent civil disobedience in an attempt to halt mass extinction and minimise the risk of social collapse".
It was launched in October 2018 when activists gathered on Parliament Square in London to announce a "declaration of rebellion against the UK government".
Organisers say they expected a couple of hundred people to turn up but 1,500 arrived to take part in "peaceful civil disobedience".
Their early protests included blocking major bridges across the River Thames, planting trees in Parliament Square and saw activists super-gluing themselves to the gates of Buckingham Palace.
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XR stepped up its direct action in April this year as a group of protesters stripped off in the House of Commons' public gallery during a debate on Brexit.
Later that month - in their biggest protests to date - thousands of people joined 11 days of demonstrations across London, bringing parts of the city to a standstill, and attracting high-profile figures including Oscar-winning actress Dame Emma Thompson.
Around 10,000 police officers were deployed to tackle the protests and more than 1,100 people arrested, with the oldest person detained believed to be an 83-year-old man.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick condemned the "miserable disruption" inflicted on Londoners, with the force estimating that half a million people had been affected.
More recently, climate change activists from a splinter of the Extinction Rebellion movement attempted to fly drones at Heathrow Airport in September but failed to cause any disruption.
And last week Extinction Rebellion activists used a fire engine to spray the front of the Treasury building with fake blood.
What are Extinction Rebellion planning over the next fortnight?
In London, XR has detailed plans to block access to Westminster roads, bridges, government departments, and target the City of London and City Airport.
Other groups like Animal Rebellion plan to blockade meat markets like Smithfield.
On Monday morning, protesters blocked both ends of Lambeth Bridge - one of 12 sites where demonstrations are taking place - and two people have blocked the road outside New Scotland Yard after chaining themselves to a metal cylinder inside a car.
XR says that tens of thousands are expected to turn up over the two-week period and that thousands are prepared to be arrested.
Some 135 people had been detained by police by 12.30pm on Monday.
Extinction Rebellion says it wants a peaceful and non-violent mass protest, with the ultimate aim of increasing pressure on the government to respond to its demands to tackle the climate crisis.
Organisers say action is expected in more than 60 cities around the world including Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, New York and Los Angeles.
What do Extinction Rebellion want?
The activists have three main demands in the UK:
1) Extinction Rebellion say the government must "tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change".
MPs voted in May to make the UK parliament the first in the world to declare an "environment and climate emergency", but XR claim it is as "symbolic and non-binding".
2) Extinction Rebellion say the government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
Ministers have pledged that the UK will produce net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 but XR say that target is "a generation too late".
3) Extinction Rebellion say the government must create and be led by the decisions of a "citizens' assembly on climate and ecological justice". Members would be randomly selected from across the country, similar to jury service, to discuss and make recommendations on how to respond to the climate emergency
Plans to hold a citizens' assembly to combat climate change were announced in June by six parliamentary select committees, but XR say the proposals do not go far enough because it would only offer recommendations.
Will Extinction Rebellion's demands be met?
Experts have cast doubt over the feasibility of Extinction Rebellion's aims.
Neil Strachan, professor of energy economics at University College London, said that the group's demand for the UK to have net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 is "not feasible".
He told Sky News that the UK government's 2050 target is "the most ambitious" legislated target of all the G20 economies.
Prof Strachan said: "We have 25 million boilers in our houses. If you wanted to get them all out by 2025, that's one million every two months. Plus you need the supply chain to do that, you need the power plants to provide the zero carbon electricity and you need the legislation and regulation.
"That's an extremely, extremely difficult challenge to meet."
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Andre Spicer, professor of organisational behaviour at Cass Business School, also questioned whether Extinction Rebellion's tactics would achieve the support needed to create a "mass movement".
He told Sky News that the group is aiming to get about 1% of the population, or roughly 600,000 people, actively involved in its cause.
But research suggests 3.5% of the UK population would be needed - which equates to around 2.3 million people - for XR to achieve its goal, he added.
"You need to make appeals to people who might be more moderate, or conservative even, to get more people onside," Prof Spicer said.
"Setting up a few tents is important but then the question is, is that going to get people onside who might live in the Home Counties or around England?
"You also need to give people a message of hope - this is what the future is going to like and this is how it's somehow going to be better than today."
But Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley said Extinction Rebellion had contributed to a large increase in awareness of the need to tackle the climate crisis over the last year.
He told Sky News: "If we don't take action now it's going to cost us trillions of pounds. It's going to knock 20% off GDP, plus of course, the large numbers of deaths.
"The disruption we're seeing now is very small in comparison to the disruption that will happen as a result of global heating."