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London climate change protests: Major roads blocked

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ANI Europe

Scores of protesters took to the streets across London on Monday (local time), demanding the government to "take decisive action on the climate and ecological emergency," playing out around the world at the moment.

The protests, called by British climate organisation Extinction Rebellion, are expected to last for a week at least across 80 cities in more than 33 countries.

"I've come to force the government to tell the truth about climate change, the extent of the damage ... it's about priorities: fossil fuel industries, the banks, the businesses, everybody -- it's not in everyone's interest to go carbon neutral," one of the protesters told CNN.

 

"I'm here for my children, I've lived my life but I want them to live a normal life, and they might not have a chance to," she added.

Protesters glued themselves to gates, benches and other street furniture to bring attention to their cause. They also carried trees, plants and solar panels as they blocked Waterloo Bridge, one of the five locations being targeted by the campaigners in London.

"For 30 years people have known the signs of what's happening with the climate, with the ecological crisis, nothing's been done. We've tried writing letters, we've tried voting with our feet, we've tried campaigning in all the usual institutional ways, nothing's worked, emissions keep going up year on year and so this is the last thing we can think of," Mark Ovland, another one of the protesters said.

He glued himself to the pink boat at Oxford Circus, according to CNN. "We don't want to disrupt people, but we think this must surely get attention. We need to do this," he stated.

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First Published: Apr 16 2019 | 7:04 AM IST

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