United Kingdom: Civil disobedience call for emergency plan of action

Posted on by Mik Aidt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To5tZpjkakU

Extinction Rebellion is a non-violent civil disobedience movement in the UK which demands of its government that it declares a climate emergency, communicates the crisis to the public and goes zero carbon by 2025.

Extinction Rebellion calls on the UK government to reduce carbon emissions to establish a “citizens assembly” to devise an emergency plan of action similar to that seen during the second world war.

The group is planning a campaign of mass civil disobedience starting next month and promises it has hundreds of people – from teenagers to pensioners – ready to get arrested in an effort to draw attention to the unfolding climate emergency.


31 October 2018
Their first action is on 31 October 2018, when the Extinction Rebellion will be launched in London with support from George Monbiot, author from United Kingdom, and 15-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg from Sweden.

Monbiot proclaimed in an opinion piece in The Guardian on 18 October 2018:

“Our politicians, under the influence of big business, have failed us. As they take the planet to the brink, it’s time for disruptive, nonviolent disobedience.”



Letter of support
Extinction Rebellion is so far backed by almost 100 senior academics from across the UK, including the former archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. In a letter to the Guardian they state:

“While our academic perspectives and expertise may differ, we are united on this one point: we will not tolerate the failure of this or any other government to take robust and emergency action in respect of the worsening ecological crisis. The science is clear, the facts are incontrovertible, and it is unconscionable to us that our children and grandchildren should have to bear the terrifying brunt of an unprecedented disaster of our own making.”



17 November 2018
There is a follow-up action on 17 November 2018 when hundreds of activists aim to bring parts of London to a halt and the rebellion begins – along with ‘marker’ events occurring around the world. After a period of movement building around the world, further actions are planned in April 2019, where the group will be calling for further international support.

Join in
» You can join the movement by signing its Pledge of Rebellion


More information
» Read more about the group and its activities on www.risingup.org.uk, on www.extinctionrebellion.org, and on www.rebellion.earth

Contact
Email: extinctionrebellion@risingup.org.uk


Social media
» @ExtinctionRebellion on Facebook

» @ExtinctionR on Twitter

» @ExtinctionRebellion on Instagram

Hashtags on Twitter
– where you are able to scroll through the latest tweets using this particular hashtag:

#ClimateEmergency   #ClimateBreakdown   #ClimateCrisis   #ExistentialThreat   #XR   #ExtinctionRebellion   #Rebellion   #WeDontHaveTime   #TheTimeHasCome


“Humans cannot continue to violate the fundamental laws of nature or of science with impunity.”
~ Extinction Rebellion


Media coverage

» The Guardian – 27 October 2018:
‘We have a duty to act’: hundreds ready to go to jail over climate crisis
“Rowan Williams backs call for mass civil disobedience ‘to bypass the government’s inaction and defend life itself’.”

» The Guardian – 27 October 2018:
Facts about our ecological crisis are incontrovertible. We must take action
“Humans cannot continue to violate the fundamental laws of nature or science with impunity, say 94 signatories including Dr Alison Green and Molly Scott Cato MEP.”

Protect life

“Our chance for change is narrow. The UN Secretary General gives it a year and a half for drastic change. The time to act is now. We are acting to protect life on this planet and rise from the wreckage of corrupted society. Our Government inaction makes them criminally complicit, so it is our right and our duty to follow our conscience and rebel through peaceful civil disobedience.”
~ Extinction Rebellion

“Single biggest way to have impact on climate change and other environmental crises is through collective pressure on policymakers to act in our interest rather than special interests.”
~ Michael E. Mann, American climate scientist


“This is not a hoax. It is not a theory. It is not a natural cycle of warming and cooling. It is a man-made catastrophe that demands a national effort unlike anything this country has seen since World War II.”
~ The Climate Mobilization