… [S]tarting Monday 15 July Extinction Rebellion UK will return to block streets day after day creating open public spaces for creative resistance in five cities in England, Wales and Scotland – Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds and London. People are coming together through a set of UK wide regional acts of nonviolent civil disobedience to demand the Government ACT NOW to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
Marking the beginning of preparations for Extinction Rebellion’s next International Rebellion which will begin on Monday 7 October 2019, the Summer Uprising will follow on from this weekend’s East London Uprising.
Each site will have family-friendly spaces, live music, print workshops, speeches and more. Everyone is invited to join this exciting coordinated Summer Uprising in the city of their choosing:
Sea Levels Are Rising and So Are We – Bristol (XR South-West England)
In Bristol the focus will be on rising sea levels. This reflects the city’s maritime history and its risk of floods, which NASA research warns are likely to be a regular occurrence by 2050 if climate breakdown isn’t urgently addressed. 22,300 residential Bristol properties will be at risk, and flooding is likely to affect power stations.
Russell Arnott, 38, Oceanographer, University of Bath
“We
are taking action in Bristol to tell the Government to act now on
climate change and ecological breakdown. Average sea levels have risen
by 23cm since 1880 with devastating consequences. This is causing
destructive erosion, flooding, more frequent hurricanes and powerful
storms, killing and displacing millions worldwide. We have to wake up to
the facts. This is a crisis to deal with, here and now.”
For updates on Bristol, follow Extinction Rebellion Bristol on facebook, twitter and their website.
The Sixth Mass Extinction is Already Here – Cardiff (XR Wales)
Cardiff will be transformed by the arrival of concerned citizens from across Wales who are determined to highlight the need for the Welsh Government to dramatically accelerate its actions in tackling the climate crisis and ecological emergency.
They will be occupying a central space in Cardiff – meeting from 11am Monday outside Cardiff National Museum. Dressed in yellow, protestors will represent dead canaries inspired by the words of Irish President Michael D Higgins, “If we were coal miners we’d be up to our knees in dead canaries”. The sixth mass extinction is here and it’s time to act now.
Stephen Lingwood, 37, Extinction Rebellion Cardiff
“People
are dying right now of climate chaos in places like India. It’s only
going to get worse. We’re at the beginning of the sixth mass extinction
and a climate genocide and the government’s inaction is, in my view,
criminally irresponsible.”
For updates on Cardiff, follow Extinction Rebellion Cardiff on facebook and their twitter.
The Future You Fear is Already Here: Glasgow (XR Scotland) #Justice4ClimateRefugees
Glasgow / Scotland’s focus for the Summer Uprising is solidarity with climate refugees. Climate crisis and ecological breakdown are not distant threats: all around the world people are already dying and being displaced. The future effects of the Climate and Ecological Emergency that we in the UK are terrified about – floods, food shortages, droughts and resulting conflicts – are already a reality for millions of people in the Global South/Majority World. The Glasgow event will have live music, a ceilidh, speakers on climate justice and refugee solidarity, and family activities with Wee Rebellion.
Daniel Armstrong, 24, Extinction Rebellion Scotland
“As
the climate continues to break down, more and more parts of the world
will become uninhabitable. Immigration is already seen as a big issue
but it will only increase as more people are displaced. But if you’re
faced with unlivable conditions due to extreme weather, food shortages
and drought, you have no choice but to leave. From the perspective of my
hometown Glasgow, where refugees are welcomed, we stand in solidarity
with those affected not just by climate chaos but also those displaced
by this global crisis.”
For updates on Glasgow, follow Extinction Rebellion Glasgow on facebook and their twitter.
Planet Before Profit: Leeds (XR North England)
Rebels will target Leeds’ financial sector, which is the biggest and fastest growing outside London, to draw attention to the links between banking and the climate and ecological emergency. Demands will be made for the finance industry to radically clean up its act and invest to be part of the solution, not the problem.
Rev’d Jon Swales (B.A Hons, M.A, MLitt), 41, Leeds
“Too
often we remain silent in the face of injustice, oppression and
extinction. I will not be silent for the sake of the world’s most poor.
“The Extinction Rebellion protests in Leeds will allow the alarm bell to ring loud and clear in the City in which I live and work. If this call is heeded perhaps we can avert the worst of what is yet to come. I intend to play my part in non-violent and love shaped protest.”
For updates on Leeds, follow Extinction Rebellion Leeds on facebook and their twitter.
We Are Nature Defending Itself: London (XR South-East England and National)
People are invited to gather outside the Royal Courts of Justice (time TBC) in solidarity with all climate activists defending our planet around the globe. We demand climate justice for all and call on Government to make ecocide law. We stand with those laying their bodies on the line to defend the natural world and commend their courage. We are nature defending itself!
Fletcher Horobin-Worley, 45, Extinction Rebellion London:
“The
time to debate climate change is over. Now we must talk of climate
justice. Now we must talk of moral obligations. Right now thousands
suffer and die every year in the global south due to climate change.
Entire island nations are being wiped of the map. Now we must meet our
duty to shoulder the burden of adapting to climate breakdown. ”
For updates on London, follow Extinction Rebellion London on facebook, twitter and their website.
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