Actress backs climate activists in their protest near Heathrow
TEENAGE protesters staged an emotional protest at political inaction on climate change near London’s Heathrow Airport yesterday, a further day of actions that have caused transport snarl-ups in the British capital.
The Extinction Rebellion group of climate-change campaigners stood weeping and singing in a peaceful roadside protest less than 1.5km from Heathrow Terminals 2 and 3.
Some as young as 13 held a banner which read, “Are we the last generation?”.
The group has called for nonviolent civil disobedience to push the British government to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2025 and to stop what it calls a global climate crisis.
Extinction Rebellion had blocked several locations in London in recent days after it staged a seminude protest in parliament earlier this month.
The group of young people stood singing protest songs near a road busy with Easter holiday traffic.
Police officers, who far outnumbered them, approached to warn them of potential arrest for trespassing.
More than 500 people have been arrested this week and 10 charged so far, police said on Thursday.
“I fear for my future,” said Oscar Idle, 17.
“That fear gives me courage to act. I want to live in a society which is not catastrophic, where there is not going to be food shortages, wildfires and hurricanes. A place where people can live.”
Actress Emma Thompson joined the protest at Heathrow, saying: “We are here in this little island of sanity and it makes me so happy to be able to join you all and to add my voice to the young people here who have inspired a whole new movement.”
In another protest, in Rome, teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg told a rally of several thousand young people in Piazza del Popolo they should, when they are older, be able to say they did everything they could to help the climate.
While the rally was part of the school strike-for-climate movement, Italian classrooms were already shut for the Easter holiday. |