Extinction Rebellion gears up for 'joyous' London climate protests

Extinction Rebellion is gearing up for another wave of protests across London next week, in bid to further ramp up pressure on for ambitious action to tackle the climate crisis in the run up to the crucial COP26 UN climate summit being hosted by the UK government in November.

Dubbed the "Impossible Rebellion", around 2,000 XR "rebels" have so far officially signed up to take place in a fortnight of protests and civil disobedience beginning in Trafalgar Square on Monday, according to the activist group. It claims around 40 per cent of people taking part "are likely to be new" to XR demonstrations.

XR is demanding "crisis talks" with the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, COP26 President-designate Alok Sharma, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng and Environment Secretary George Eustice, on climate action and the upcoming UN summit in Glasgow.

It has also reiterated its challenge for the UK press to "tell the truth" about the scale of the climate crisis, and for all new investment in fossil fuels to be stopped immediately, in line with the recommendations of International Energy Agency earlier this year.

"This Rebellion will be about creating irresistible forces which change the social reality summits like COP takes place in," XR said. "We will occupy spaces in London, whether it be buildings or roads."

XR said the second week of action would be focused on the City of London with the aim of pushing for climate action from the UK's financial sector.

"By focusing on the City, the Rebellion will target the root cause of the crisis, the political economy," an XR statement reads. "We need to build pressure on the biggest financial institutions that are fuelling this emergency, targeting those who have a legacy of funding the toxic system that oppresses marginalised communities at home and around the world. This crisis involves everyone."

Previous iterations of mass protest led by XR - particularly those in 2019 which on two separate occasions drew parts of London to standstill - have been credited with bringing the climate crisis to wider prominence among the public and the media.

However, the activist group has also courted controversy for its tactics, which have seen members causing major disruption to public transport, spraying government buildings with blood-coloured paint, and dumping manure outside the offices of major newspapers.

Unlike previous demonstrations, however, XR said it had no plans to disrupt public transport over the next fortnight, and that it has notified the police in advance that it plans to hold the protests.

"We will begin in Trafalgar Square, and go on until our demands are met," said XR activist Anneka Sutcliffe. "Our aim is to create a whirlwind around the issues. As well as talks, there will be occupations and marches. It is going to be joyous, celebratory atmosphere."

It will mark the first major XR action in the UK since the Covid-19 pandemic first forced the UK into lockdown last year, since which time the government has proposed a controversial Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which proposes a major overhaul many aspects of policing and criminal justice in the UK. Critics of the legislation warn the Bill would give police and the government draconian powers to restrict protests and demonstrations.

Ahead of the latest XR action on Monday, police services said officers would be out in greater numbers over the next fortnight in order to "respond appropriately and proportionately to protest activity".

"It is clear to us, from reading and listening to their public announcements that Extinction Rebellion's intention is to once again cause significant disruption to London and to London's communities through acts of civil disobedience," said Matt Twist, Deputy Assistant Commissioner at the Metropolitan Police. "Like everyone else, Extinction Rebellion have the right to assemble and the right to protest. However these rights are qualified and are to be balanced against the rights of others. They do not have the right to cause serious disruption to London's communities and prevent them going about their lawful business."