What are Extinction Rebellion and what are their demands?
In recent months the news media has been reporting right across the world including Australia protesters in large groups rallying in our major cities on mass. With traffic delays, protesters suspended from bridges, climbing buildings their civil disobedience has caused disruption globally. The groups seem to have different sub divisions and their demands may vary. How do we know what they are about and what they want? The Extinction Rebellion and the core group was founded in the UK in 2018. They are a group who use nonviolent ways to communicate their message and aim for civil disobedience to get their message across. But what is their message? The media vision reports of disruption, angry commuters and arrests? Yet do we know what the stand for??
In a very basic summary, they seem to have three clear demands.
1) Tell the truth
The government must tell the truth about the scale of the ecological crisis by declaring a climate emergency, “working with other groups and institutions to communicate the urgent need for change”.
2) Net zero emissions by 2025
The UK and other countries must drastically cut its greenhouse gas emissions, hitting net zero by 2025.
3) Citizens’ assembly
The government must create a citizens’ assembly to hear evidence and devise policy to tackle the climate crisis. Citizens’ assemblies bring together ordinary people to investigate, discuss and make recommendations on how to respond, in this case, to the ecological emergency.
Are the protests effective? How do we work as a community, country and globally to look after the planet? It starts with everybody making small changes to their daily life, such as recycling.
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