Climate change protests: What is Extinction Rebellion?

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Over 1,000 people have been arrested at climate change protests in London over the past week. Demonstrators have glued themselves to vehicles and to the pavement, occupied key intersections around the city and staged a "die-in" in a major museum.

So what is Extinction Rebellion, the group behind these protests, and why are they sowing chaos?

Not your regular protest

Extinction Rebellion was launched late last year following UN warnings that the planet is facing an "existential threat" resulting from climate change.

Starting on April 15, the group called for an International Rebellion "to demand that governments take necessary action on the global Climate and Ecological Emergency."

Worried about carbon emissions, rising seas and natural disasters, and unhappy with just waving banners and chanting slogans, Extinction Rebellion has pushed for disruptive actions to force leaders to take note.

A British Transport Police officer talks to climate activists sitting on top of a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) train in London, UK, April 17, 2019. /Getty Images

"Governments are consistently failing to take the urgent and decisive action that will save us. If the system will not change, then we must change the system," it vowed on its website.

Responding to the group's call to "Shut Down London!", protesters last week occupied Parliament Square and blocked Waterloo Bridge and Oxford Circus. Police have since cleared those locations and urged demonstrators to move to another site at Marble Arch.

But the protesters' stunts have made great headline fodder. Several activists chained and glued themselves to a lorry blocking Waterloo Bridge. A respected UN environmental lawyer who worked on the 2015 Paris climate deal glued her hands to the pavement outside Shell's London headquarters. In a more incongruous incident, several protesters glued themselves to the fence outside opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's house.

Demonstrators also parked a pink boat in the middle of Oxford Circus. And on Monday, about 100 activists held a "die-in" at the National History Museum, to highlight the mass extinction of animal species as a result of climate change.

A climate change banner is pictured at an Extinction Rebellion protest in Oxford Circus, London, UK, April 19, 2019. /Getty Images

Extinction Rebellion – whose demands include zero carbon emissions by 2025 – insists that it advocates "non-violent civil disobedience" and media reports have noted the festival-like atmosphere at the protesters' main camp at Marble Arch, which even featured musical performances over the weekend.

Who, how many and where?

Protesters of all ages and from all walks of life have joined in the action, including former police officers, environmentalists, young professionals, retirees and students.

In all, thousands have taken part in the mobilization.

As of Monday morning, 1,065 people had been arrested, London's Metropolitan police said, making this the biggest civil disobedience event in recent UK history, according to organizers.

Actress Emma Thompson addressed the protest at Oxford Circus on Friday, and British Olympic champion Etienne Stott was among those arrested over the weekend. U.S. linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky, novelist Philip Pullman and the former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams have also backed Extinction Rebellion's actions.

Actress Emma Thompson talks to members of the media from atop a pink boat parked in Oxford Circus as part of an Extinction Rebellion protest in London, UK, April 19, 2019. /Getty Images

While London's protests have been the biggest, actions have also been held in other cities like Edinburgh, The Hague in the Netherlands and Cologne, Germany.

Is disruption justified?

Critics have complained that the protests, while targeting governments, are disrupting public transportation and ordinary people's lives.

In a tweet on Sunday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan acknowledged the "passion… of those protesting," but deplored that the rebellion "is now taking a real toll on our city… this is counter-productive to the cause."

An overstretched police force has mobilized 9,000 officers to handle the protests, taking them off vital crime-fighting duties. Disrupting public transportation was also counter-productive to efforts to combat carbon emissions, Khan noted. Bus routes have had to be diverted or suspended and on Wednesday, activists caused minor delays to the city's rail transit network.

Screenshot of Sadiq Khan's Twitter feed. /CGTN

Extinction Rebellion's actions are estimated to have already cost London businesses millions of pounds.

The group insists however that its methods are necessary, arguing that "conventional approaches of voting, lobbying, petitions and protest have failed."

Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, addressing protesters at Marble Arch on Monday, also defended the actions.

“I support Extinction Rebellion.... Civil disobedience is important to show this is an emergency. We need to do everything we can to put pressure on the people in power,” she said.

Extinction Rebellion environmental activists camp at Marble Arch in London, UK, April 22, 2019. /Getty Images

The rallies were initially set for April 15 to 29. But Extinction Rebellion has vowed to continue pressuring governments, even if this means further disrupting daily life.

"This is not a one-off march – we will keep going for as long as we have to, shutting down cities day after day until our demands are met," it vowed.

(Cover picture: An Extinction Rebellion banner is pictured at a climate change protest in London, England, April 15, 2019. /Getty Images)