The police in London have arrested more than 1,000 protestors in the past week. Many of central London's busiest areas have been brought to a standstill as tens of thousands of demonstrators staged peaceful protests on bridges, landmarks and traffic intersections. The protestors are part of the newly formed Extinction Rebellion. This is a movement focused on bringing the UK government to declare climate change as a global emergency and to pass laws to considerably reduce the UK's carbon footprint. Campaigners have three key demands: for the government to "tell the truth about climate change"; to reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2025; and to create a citizens' assembly to oversee progress.
The Swedish teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg met leaders of the UK's main political parties on Tuesday. The 16-year-old is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee. She is attributed with starting the global school protests in which students have been striking for a greener planet. She told politicians that the future of all the world's children had been "sold so that a small number of people can make unimaginable amounts of money". She added: "You don't listen to the science because you are only interested in the answers that will allow you to carry on as if nothing has happened." One protestor said: "I support Extinction Rebellion. Civil disobedience is important to show this is an emergency."
