28th August 2020
Contact: Graham, 07810 556743
Interviews available / photo opportunities on 29/08/2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Climate Crisis activists, aiming to close the gap between political words and action, will be hanging banners from Derby road bridges this Saturday 29 August and reaching out to fellow Derby citizens in the city centre with a Prayer Vigil and information about the crisis.
Members of Christian Climate Action East Midlands and XR Derby are asking the government to adopt the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill which will commit the UK to making and enacting a serious plan to tackle the climate crisis. They will also highlight the risks, dangers and sheer pointlessness of the £multi-billion national road building strategy as the world heats and ecosystems are wrecked.
The government road-building strategy affects Derby badly. The A38 road widening scheme causes years of construction chaos, seizes areas of much-loved Markeaton Park and individual homes, destroys 300-year-old mature oak trees, and increases air pollution and carbon emissions. On every indicator of planetary health for human existence, political will is failing and climate rebels demand a habitable future.
Co-ordinated on this occasion by Christian Climate Action, climate rebels from all walks of life, age-groups, political persuasions, ethnic and religious traditions are united in understanding the seriousness and urgency of the threats.
The campaigners demand honest public assessment of the Climate and Ecological Crises, urgent action to dramatically reduce human impacts on the Biosphere, and Citizens’ Assemblies to find new ways forward. They also seek the active support of local politicians for the Climate & Ecological Emergency Bill.
Caroline H, speaking for Christian Climate Action East Midlands, said:
“The Climate and Ecological Crises are having dramatic impacts, even in rich countries like the UK where more extreme and changing weather patterns affect all aspects of our lives, including food supplies and new diseases like Covid19. Our banners on road bridges and outreach in Derby Market Place call for urgent action at all political, social and economic levels.”
These actions will be amongst dozens taking place across the UK during the bank holiday weekend. They will be followed, from 1st September, by national action in London, Manchester and Cardiff as climate crisis activists highlight the seriousness of the situation to persuade the government to take urgent action.
Ends
Contact: Graham 07810 556743
Notes to Editors:
- Christian Climate Action is a community of Christians supporting each other to take meaningful action in the face of imminent and catastrophic anthropogenic climate breakdown. Inspired by the example of Jesus Christ, and social justice movements of the past, we carry out acts of non-violent direct action to urge those in power to make the change needed. christianclimateaction.org
- XR Derby Extinction Rebellion is part of an international movement that uses non-violent civil disobedience in an attempt to halt mass extinction and minimise the risk of social collapse. https://extinctionrebellion.uk/the-truth/about-us/
- Reputable research institutions across the world agree that:
- The oceans are dying
- The great rain forests will soon be gone
- Fertile soil is disappearing
- Complex ecosystems are being exterminated
- Insects are vanishing
- Plastic is in our blood
- Climate chaos is inevitable
- The sixth mass extinction in Earth’s existence is underway
We ask: “Why are these crises not front page news…?”
Accompanying picture caption:
Extinction Rebellion campaigners receive support from passing drivers as they get their message across from a bridge over the A38 in Derby.