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EXCERPTED FROM The Great Healing:
In England in November 2018, the British government delivered its national budget. It was a plan woefully lacking in addressing global warming at this critical moment in human history. The group Extinction Rebellion protested immediately, blocking Parliament Square in London, its activists declaring their refusal “to bequeath a dying planet to future generations by failing to act now.”
Later that week and 6,000 strong, Extinction Rebellion protests shut down five main London bridges gaining attention worldwide. Their declaration states, “The ecological crises that are impacting upon this nation, and indeed this planet and its wildlife can no longer be ignored, denied, nor go unanswered by any beings of sound rational thought, ethical conscience, moral concern, or spiritual belief.” As such, we "declare ourselves in rebellion against our government and the corrupted, inept institutions that threaten our future.” Extinction Rebellion accuses the British government of “willful complicity” that “has shattered meaningful democracy and cast aside the common interest in favor of short-term gain and private profits… This is our darkest hour... The science is clear — we are in the sixth mass extinction event and we will face catastrophe if we do not act swiftly and robustly.”[i]
Extinction Rebellion is now a global movement with participants in 35 countries including the United States.
On April 15, 2019 Extinction Rebellion protesters in Sweden occupied the country’s Parliament and staged a die-in. In Berlin, protesters shut down a main traffic artery, the Oberbaum bridge. But the biggest events happened in London…
In her article, Thank These Climate Activists for Resisting Our Extinction, Sonali Kolhatkar reported, “Nothing matters anymore except for action. That is what thousands of people, young and old, have expressed in London over the past several days. On April 15, members of Extinction Rebellion occupied key landmarks across the city: Parliament Square, Marble Arch, Oxford Circus, Waterloo Bridge and Piccadilly Circus. They articulated a simple set of three demands to the government: declare a climate and ecological emergency, enact policies to become carbon-neutral by 2025, and declare a citizens assembly to deepen democracy, given how spectacularly our existing governments have failed us. Over eight days of actions, more than 1,000 people were arrested in London as they engaged in nonviolent civil disobedience in the form of sit-ins, road blockages and die-ins — the largest number of arrests resulting from any coordinated set of actions in the city. Activists super-glued themselves to the front of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn’s home, to the top of a train carriage, and also to a train window. They brought London to a standstill and made clear that climate action is a nonnegotiable demand.”[ii]
Then something remarkable happened.
On May 1, 2019 Great Britain’s Labour Party put forth a motion to declare an environment and climate emergency. Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn made this appeal to the Prime Ministers: “We have no time to waste. We are living in a climate crisis that will spiral dangerously out of control unless we take rapid and dramatic action now. This is no longer about the distant future. We are talking about nothing less than the irreversible destruction of our environment within our lifetimes. Young people know this. They have the most to lose. I was deeply moved a few weeks ago to see the streets outside this parliament filled with color and noise by children on strike from school chanting ‘our planet, our future.’ For someone of my generation it was inspiring but also humbling that children felt they had to leave school to teach the adults a lesson. The truth is they are ahead of the politicians on this — the most important issue of our times. We are witnessing an unprecedented upsurge of climate activism with groups like Extinction Rebellion forcing the politicians in this building to listen… Today we have the opportunity to say: ‘We hear you.’”[iii]
After debate the Parliament voted and the motion passed.
Jeremy Corbyn said after Great Britain’s historic vote, “Today we have seen something incredible. The UK parliament has passed Labour’s motion and become the first in the world to declare an environment and climate emergency. This can set off a wave of action from parliaments and governments around the globe… Protesters and school-strikers told us to act. Governments never act without pressure and we must keep the pressure up. I'm proud that the Labour Party brought this motion to the House, and now we will carry on this work by developing our plans to deliver a Green Industrial Revolution."[iv]
Eight days later on May 9, Ireland became the second country to declare a climate emergency.[v]
On June 11, 2019, the British government announced a new policy — a commitment enshrined into law — to become an entirely “net zero” carbon emissions economy by 2050, making them the world’s first major economy to make this commitment.[vi]
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[i] Andrea Germanos, ‘This Is Our Darkest Hour’: With Declaration of Rebellion, New Group Vows Mass Civil Disobedience to Save Planet, Common Dreams, Oct. 31, 2018 https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/10/31/our-darkest-hour-declaration-rebellion-new-group-vows-mass-civil-disobedience-save
[ii] Sonali Kolhatkar, Thank These Climate Activists for Resisting Our Extinction, Truthdig, Apr. 25, 2019, https://www.truthdig.com/articles/thank-these-climate-activists-for-resisting-our-extinction/
[iii] Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn, Jeremy Corbyn Declares Environment and Climate Emergency, Labour.org, May 1, 2019, https://labour.org.uk/press/jeremy-corbyn-declares-environment-climate-emergency/
[iv] Labour, Labour’s Successful Climate Emergency Motion Can Set Off Wave of Action Around Globe, Labour.org, May 1, 2019, https://labour.org.uk/press/labours-successful-climate-emergency-motion-can-set-off-wave-action-around-globe/
[v] Michelle Devane, Ireland Declares Climate Emergency: ‘Things Will Deteriorate Rapidly Unless We Move Very Swiftly’, Independent, May 10, 2019, https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/ireland-declares-climate-emergency-things-will-deteriorate-rapidly-unless-we-move-very-swiftly-38098129.html
[vi] James Hitchings-Hales, Britain Becomes First Major Country to Commit to Legally Binding Zero Emissions Target, Global Citizen, Jun. 12, 2019, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/britain-net-zero-emissions-target-theresa-may/
