Update – Five boats, five cities – ACT NOW
July 15, 2019 by Extinction Rebellion
Email: press@risingup.org.uk
Bristol, South West England: +44(0)7432 677696, +44(0)7722062502, +44(0)7527669942
Cardiff, Wales: +44(0)7580189876, +44 (0)7591800795
Glasgow, Scotland: +44(0)7904591052
Leeds, North England: +44(0)7964072879, +44(0)7376457438
London, Central and South England: +44(0)7911183633, +44(0)7986671716
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Media Assets | Crowd Funder
What emergency? | Extinction Rebellion in Numbers
Trailer video for Summer Uprising – ACT NOW
Hashtags #SummerUprising #ActNow #ExtinctionRebellion
- Today thousands of concerned citizens took to the streets across five UK cities – Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds and London – as part of Extinction Rebellion’s Summer Uprising
- The protests call on the government to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025
- Each city revealed its own large, coloured boat painted with the message ‘ACT NOW!’ with each city having its own unique protest drawing attention to different elements of the climate and ecological emergency: rising sea levels, floods, wildfires, extreme weather and crop failures taking place around the world
- The Summer Uprising is part of the build towards the next mobilisation for the International Rebellion, beginning Monday 7 October.
Today thousands of concerned citizens took to the streets across five UK cities – Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds and London – as part of Extinction Rebellion’s Summer Uprising. Centre stage, blocking key roads are five boats emblazoned with the words ACT NOW and named after ecological activists, either living or passed, who have risked their lives in defence of the future of our planet took centre stage in the five cities: Bristol – Jeanette Kawas; Cardiff – Margoth Escobar; Glasgow – Amal Gous; Leeds – Mia Mascarinas-Green; and in London – Polly Higgins.
This emergency mobilisation of ordinary citizens, driven to action by the threat of climate breakdown and ecological collapse, is demanding the government take immediate action to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gases to net zero by 2025.
Bristol (Extinction Rebellion South-West England) – Sea Levels Are Rising and So Are We
Today, more than one thousand rebels descended on Bristol Bridge to demand that the Bristol Council honours their climate emergency declaration, and Acts Now to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025.
Standing astride a pink boat emblazoned with the slogan ‘tell the truth’, co-founder of Extinction Rebellion Gail Bradbrook addressed crowds of hundreds early this morning. She urged them not just to keep up pressure on politicians and big business to put the planet first, but to support each other in the fight to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025. Musicians and speakers, some only aged 10, entertained and inspired from the stage throughout the day. A family site was set-up nearby with crafts and activities for children. The energy from the bridge was carried further into the city by hundreds of protesters who marched through the streets with a samba band.’
Tomorrow, Extinction Rebellion Youth Bristol will be camping in College Green, and will be undertaking activities to highlight the emergency. Meanwhile older rebels will be challenging councillors and the Mayor on their carbon plans at the City Council.
Bristol’s pink boat represents hope in the face of rising sea levels and impending climate catastrophe, and is named after Jeanette Kawas, the Honduran environmental activist murdered in 1995 for opposing planting oil palm in protected areas and illegal logging. She is known as the first environmental martyr of Honduras and for her role in saving more than 400 species of flora and fauna. [1]
Mary-Rose Clarke, 26, Extinction Rebellion
“We’re proud to be in Bristol with our new Extinction Rebellion boat, the Jeanette Kawas. Named after the Honduran activist murdered for saving 400 species of fauna and flora from developers. Although we are protesting non-violently to demand urgent action on climate change and species extinction, we stand in the footsteps of brave people around the world who have been championing these issues for years – and even lost their lives as a result. Let’s hope governments around the world act now and these sacrifices aren’t in vain.”
For updates on Bristol, follow Extinction Rebellion Bristol on facebook, twitter and website.
Cardiff (Extinction Rebellion Wales) – The Sixth Mass Extinction is Already Here
Today, in sunny Cardiff six hundred people gathered outside Cardiff Castle where there were picnic, children’s activities, people’s assemblies two green giant beautiful mushrooms in place and committed rebels. The atmosphere is calm, excited, yearning for change, keen to embrace all opinions.
The green boat is parked outside Cardiff Castle with eight people braving lock-ons willingly risking arrest. This boat is named after Margoth Escobar, an Ecuadorian environmental and indigenous rights defender who has been working since the 1970s in the promotion of the rights of indigenous peoples from the Amazon region. On 29 September 2018, an arson attack was carried out at her home in Puyo, Ecuador. [2]
By working together, we aim to encourage the Welsh Assembly and Scottish and UK governments to act now. To commit to receding carbon emissions to net zero by 2025. Climate breakdown has started. We have to respond to mitigate emissions and prepare for the future. Rebels from all over Wales have come together to call on the Welsh Assembly. Aberystwyth, Bangor, the border towns, Machynlleth, Llanidloes, Abergavenny, Carmarthen, Borth and more.For updates on Cardiff, follow Extinction Rebellion Cardiff on facebook and their twitter.
Glasgow (Extinction Rebellion Scotland) #Justice4ClimateRefugees – The Future You Fear is Already Here
The purple boat Amal Gous, named after the Sudanese tea seller murdered during the recent authorities’ violent dispersal of the sit-in in front of the army general command in the Sudanese capital on June 3, has been locked in place at Trongate by the Merchant City clock tower. It has the message ‘The Future You Fear is Already Here’ in English and Scots Gaelic written on the side. Wee Rebellion, all dressed in red, are drawing chalk on the road and playing symbolic playground games like ‘Olly Olly Octopus’ and ‘What’s the time, Mother Earth?’. Speakers have been talking about the Serco evictions, the UK’s hostile environment policy, and how droughts, food shortages, and extreme weather are affecting the Global South and indigenous communities around the world today.
For updates on Glasgow, follow Extinction Rebellion Scotland on facebook and their twitter.
Leeds (Extinction Rebellion North England) – Planet Before Profit:
In Leeds, activists have been on Victoria Bridge in the city centre since 9.30am, where they’ve installed a bright yellow boat, named after Mia Mascarinas-Green, the Philippine environmental lawyer who specialised in investigating crimes against the environment. Killed in 2017, her death deepened concerns that the Philippines is one of the world’s most dangerous places for environmental campaigners, with more than 100 killed over the previous 15 years. [4]There has been a protest camp set up to shine a spotlight on the role of Leeds’ financial sector in financing polluting investments in fracking, coal and other dirty technologies. The protestors have already held a citizen’s assembly, danced to samba drums, set up a kitchen offering free food, and set up a wellbeing tent to provide first aid and support. They plan to stay camping on the bridge overnight and for the rest of the week, but have fallback plans to run actions in other parts of the city if police force them to move from the bridge.
Alex Evans, 43, of Extinction Rebellion said: “My eldest child is nine years old and for each of those nine years I’ve watched her future get steadily worse while everyone waits for everyone else to do something on climate change. Now we’re out of time and we can see climate breakdown all around us. Enough’s enough: it’s time to act now.”For updates on Leeds, follow Extinction Rebellion Leeds on facebook and their twitter.
London (Extinction Rebellion South-East England and National) – We Are Nature Defending Itself
Today has seen hundreds of people gather together at the Royal Courts of Justice with an iconic blue boat, named after the environmental lawyer Polly Higgins who died earlier this year from cancer, demanding the government Act Now. They were at the courts to reinforce the need for ecocide to become law and to question the prosecution of more than one thousand people who were arrested in April, while asking the Government to protect our future by acting now. Currently the boat is processing from the Courts towards Waterloo Millenium Park. Rebels will be there for the night and the upcoming days of action including talks, trainings, music and a critical mass bike ride. Expect visits to questionable infrastructure projects that London should not be planning to develop given the ecological and climate emergency.
Jojo Mehta of the Stop Ecocide campaign said:
“Polly Higgins died earlier this year from cancer while Extinction Rebellion’s International Rebellion was taking place. She watched everything from her hospital bed. She saw people taking up the call to make ecocide law. “She would be so tickled that the boat placed in front of the Royal Courts of Justice is named after her! Polly gave up a courtroom career to become an earth lawyer and work towards making ecocide (destruction of the natural world) a crime.
“We feel that Extinction Rebellion and the School Strikes have done the most incredible job of opening up a much needed conversation with Government and the public so that there is now a huge awareness of the climate and ecological emergency.“Now that we are more aware of the emergency, it is time to demand change from our Governments. It is time to criminalise those that commit ecocide.
“We would love everyone to sign up to the Stop Ecocide campaign, to change the law to protect the body of our Earth, just as we would the bodies of our children, our friends and our family…”
Notes to Editors:
[1] https://ejatlas.org/conflict/jeannette-kawas-fernandez-case-honduras / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanette_Kawas
[2] https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/profile/margoth-escobar
[4] https://news.mongabay.com/2017/02/environmental-lawyer-killed-in-the-philippines/
More about Extinction Rebellion:
Extinction Rebellion’s top-line demands:
- Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.
- The government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
- The government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.
What emergency? | Extinction Rebellion in Numbers
Get involved
- In the UK, come to one of our events, join the Rebellion Network and let us know how you can help out.
- Start a group where you are: in the UK or around the world.
- Find your local group.
- Check out the International XR website, with links to the French, German, Italian and UK websites.
- And while your time and energy are of most importance, if you are financially able to donate money, see our crowdfunder.
About Rising Up!
Extinction Rebellion is an initiative of the Rising Up! network, which promotes a fundamental change of our political and economic system to one which maximises well-being and minimises harm. Change needs to be nurtured in a culture of reverence, gratitude and inclusion while the tools of civil disobedience and direct action are used to express our collective power.