Climate protests were held in cities around the globe today.
HUNDREDS OF CLIMATE ACTIVISTS have been arrested around the world as protesters began two weeks of civil disobedience demanding immediate action to save the Earth from “extinction”.
The demonstrations, triggered by the group Extinction Rebellion, saw hundreds take to the streets in each city, following similar Greta Thunberg-inspired protests last month.
The group called the protests to demand that governments drastically cut the carbon emissions that scientists have shown cause devastating climate change.
In London, where the Extinction Rebellion movement was born last year, 276 people were detained as demonstrators put up structures near the House of Commons in Westminster.
“Getting arrested sends a message to the government that otherwise law-abiding citizens are desperate,” IT consultant Oshik Romem, from Israel but working in Britain for 19 years, told AFP.
Across the globe, protesters chained themselves to vehicles and other structures and lay down in the middle of streets in defiance of police across Europe and parts of Asia, Africa and North America.
In Dublin, a small demonstration began at 12.30pm and campaigners parked a pink yacht outside the Department of Taoiseach, where they called on Leo Varadkar to listen to their demands to reduce Ireland’s carbon emissions.
Protesters later began to swarm traffic in various parts of the city for a number of hours, and shut down a section of the Luas Red line for a short time.
A makeshift encampment was also set up in Merrion Square, which will act as the unofficial hub of protests for the remainder of the week.
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