Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protesters glue themselves to London Stock Exchange
‘We know we have disrupted your lives. We do not do this lightly. We only do this because this is an emergency’, group says
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Climate protesters from Extinction Rebellion (XR) glued themselves to the entrances of the London Stock Exchange as the group carried out demonstrations in the financial district on Thursday.
The group said the area was being targeted because “the financial industry is responsible for funding climate and ecological destruction and we are calling on them, the companies and the institutions that allow this to happen, to tell the truth”.
Seven men and women wearing black suits and red ties glued themselves together in a line, blocking two entrances to the building.
An hour later, protesters climbed onto the roof of a DLR train at Canary Wharf, bringing the service in the area to a halt as they unfurled banners referencing London mayor Sadiq Khan’s demands they end protests and allow “business as usual” to return.
The banners read: “Business as usual = death” and “Don’t jail the canaries”.
The protesters glued outside the stock exchange were removed from the building by police later in the morning.
The demonstration comes on the final day of protests which have caused disruption in the British capital but also brought extensive coverage and fresh debate over the global climate crisis.
Last night the protesters had warned they would target the City, and had said they would set up roadblocks on the same day the group would end blockades at Parliament Square and Marble Arch.
A spokeswoman for the group said: “There’s a public event which is what we are calling swarming, where at different locations in the City people will swarm into the roads and block the roads.”
She added: “And we’re asking the government to take action to address the climate emergency.”
The climate protesters are urging the government to declare a climate emergency to avoid what it calls the “sixth mass extinction” of species on Earth.
In a statement announcing the end of their action XR said: “We would like to thank Londoners for opening their hearts and demonstrating their willingness to act on that truth.
“We know we have disrupted your lives. We do not do this lightly. We only do this because this is an emergency.
“Around the planet, a long-awaited and much-needed conversation has begun.
“People have taken to the streets and raised the alarm in more than 80 cities in 33 countries.
“People are talking about the climate and ecological emergency in ways that we never imagined.”
The group added: “It is now time to go back into our communities, whether in London, around the UK or internationally.”
XR also said to expect more public action “very soon”, and said there will be a “closing ceremony” at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park on Thursday at 5pm.
Additional reporting by PA
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