Climate change activists held a demonstration in the City of London on Sunday as they started two weeks of protests focused on the capital’s financial district.
About 200 demonstrators from the group Extinction Rebellion took part in the demonstration, aimed at highlighting the role of high finance in the climate crisis.
The demonstrators targeted the medieval Guildhall, the home of the City of London Corporation, which governs the city’s historic financial center.
Three activists climbed the facade of the ornate Guildhall, lit red flares, and displayed a banner that said, “co-liberation-freedom together”.
Extinction Rebellion said it targeted the city’s financial district because, they argue, it helps to fuel climate change.
The group is calling for an emergency response from governments and a move away from polluting industries in order to prevent the worst-case scenarios of devastation outlined by scientists.
Anneka Sutcliffe, an Extinction Rebellion member, has said, “We expect the protests to be disruptive. The focus will be on the City, where the power holders are.”
Meanwhile, the UK government and its management of Cop26, the UN climate talks due to be held this November in Glasgow, are also key targets.
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Jon Lynes, 93, a veteran of Extinction Rebellion protests, said, “This is a critical moment for our government to do something. But they have cut down overseas aid while increasing armed forces spending, and dithered over a coal mine in Cumbria and new oilfields. It is really a disgrace. This is why now is the moment [for protest].”
During 11 days of action in 2019, the group brought much of central London to a standstill, bringing its cause to the fore.
The City of London, which is the smallest local authority in the UK, officially declares its job is to reinforce the importance of financial services to the British economy.
It is claimed to be the oldest, continuous representative local government in the world, running the area that is home to the Bank of England and St Paul’s Cathedral for at least a thousand years.
