
Protests signal a ‘climate spring’
2019.05.14A CIVIL disobedience campaign has prompted the British parliament to declare a climate emergency.
It has also galvanised environmental activists around the globe by showing how rapidly disruptive tactics can force politicians to listen.
In what some activists have dubbed a ‘climate spring’, grassroots networks, spurred by the grim findings of the latest climate data, are building a momentum that is taking
governments, corporate executives and even members of the groups themselves by surprise.
“This is saying: be bold, act, don’t wait and think you need to mobilise a million people – 5,000 is enough,” said Farhana Yamin, a leading figure in Extinction Rebellion, a
new movement that sparked a national debate on climate change after occupying several sites in central London last month.
Yamin was speaking outside parliament on 1 May, where lawmakers passed a world-first motion to declare an “environment and climate change emergency”.
The motion was called for by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn “to set off a wave of action from parliaments and governments around the globe”.
The symbolic declaration followed a wave of protests by Extinction Rebellion. It recognised the urgency needed to combat the climate crisis.
(This article is published on Junior Standard on 14 May 2019)
UK Parliament declares climate change emergency
http://bbc.in/2V6YK3G
Climate change – UN
http://bit.ly/2I6SX6h

