Above Photo: A group of nine protestors could be seen sitting in the central lobby holding a banner. Extinction Rebellion.
A group of protestors could be seen sitting in the floor of Parliament’s central lobby.
Extinction Rebellion protestors have ‘occupied parliament’ after a group of nine demonstrators staged a sit-down protest in the middle of the Palace of Westminster’s central lobby, unfurling a banner which read: “”G7 pay your climate debt”.
Extinction Rebellion, often shortened to XR, have staged a number of high profile and disruptive protests across London in the past few years, including blocking Tower Bridge and key roads in the centre of the city in a bid to make lawmakers take more drastic action to address global warming and avert a climate crisis.
In a tweet by the protest group the protest was explained as a demonstration of support for the ‘Climate Debt’ campaign. It said: “activists occupy Parliament in support of @DebtforClimate a Global South-led campaign calling for the cancellation of all Global South debt 2020-21 Global South spent up to $3.4 trillion on external debt – ££ that should be spent on a green energy transition.”
G7 leaders are currently meeting in Italy in a three-day summit set to conclude with a final communique on Tuesday. During the summit leaders have discussed ways of reducing coal use and scaling up renewable energies in a way that is “socially just”, according to a statement.
Attacking the G7 for not doing enough though Extinction Rebellion claimed the leaders at the conference had left poorer countries with no choice but to use fossil fuels in order to pay off their international debts, adding that it was these poorer countries likely to face the most drastic consequences of climate change.
In a statement on Twitter the group said: “The people with most at stake in the G7’s decisions are denied a seat at the table. People of the Global South are choking beneath reinforcing crises of climate and debt, and we are here in solidarity to bring their message to the heart of British power.
“We demand that the G7 take the knee off the neck of the Global South by cancelling all debt. Countries of the Global South are left with no choice but to extract fossil fuels for export to pay their crippling debts. And every penny spent paying debt cannot be spent on renewables.”