The sight of police cars and officers swarming around a government building in the middle of London could spark concern in a passer-by.
But I soon discovered the focus was a blockade of peaceful protesters lobbying for climate change policy, after an urgent plea from the United Nations.
Watch my IGTV News Report video on the protest here.
A few dozen people from a group called Extinction Rebellion descended on the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on Monday 12th November 2018 for the first day of a two-week coordinated campaign across London.
British grandfather Derek Langley attached himself to a fellow protester and lay down in the middle of Victoria Street outside the department building, bringing traffic to a standstill.
Mr Langley was not your typical dreadlock-clad protestor you might expect to find taking such drastic action. No, Derek was a freshly shaven, middle-aged man wearing glasses who looked like he could be on his day off from a bank job or even from the department building itself.
I crouched down next to him on the road to find out his story and he told me this was the first time he’d been involved in a protest like this but he said he felt compelled to join the movement.
“It’s a huge change for me but I’ve got two grandchildren and I just want them to have a future and the way things are going they’re not going to have a future,” Mr Langley said.
I asked why he’d decided to protest now.
“For a couple of years I’d just given up and thought we’re all done for, then this campaign came along and I thought ‘well yeah there’s a chance this could work if we can get enough people on board’,” he said.
“We need to take drastic action now to reverse climate change; we need to drastically reduce carbon emissions.”
“I think this country could set an example to the rest of the world for what everyone needs to do.”
Mr Langley said he thought introducing a worldwide carbon tax could be a solution because it would “massively reduce carbon emissions”.
Protester arrested after climbing onto government roof in London
I saw another protester – a mother named Gail Bradbrook – taken into police custody after being coaxed down from a roof awning of the department building.
Mobile phone footage posted on Instagram by another attendee showed Ms Bradbrook using a spray can to paint the words ‘Frack Off’ on the building, in reference to a gas mining technique called hydraulic fracturing.
In Western Australia, community concern over fracking became a big election issue for the state government in 2016, with WA Labor banning fracking in the state’s lush South West region until more research on the technique was carried out.
Who are the Extinction Rebellion protesters?
One of the protest organisers, who only wanted to be known as Ben, was handing out leaflets explaining the action to other passers by.
Ben was quick to tell me the message of the Extinction Rebellion group.
“[The government’s] policies are sending us very quickly into potential mass extinction and ecological catastrophe,” Ben said.
“So really, we’ve had decades of campaigning through other means and nothing’s happening so hence we’re saying what we need is direct action, massive disruption, it’s a climate emergency hence we’re taking measures which seem extreme but actually we feel it necessary.”
“We have the UN Secretary-General saying we’ve got a couple of years to turn this around… and yet the government policy is not really addressing this.”
Secretary-General’s remarks on Climate Change
That speech that Ben was referring to was handed down by the United Nations’ Secretary-General António Guterres on September 10th 2018.
His message was a clear SOS, labelling the climate change situation our world faces an “emergency”.
“If we do not change course by 2020, we risk missing the point where we can avoid runaway climate change, with disastrous consequences for people and all the natural systems that sustain us,” the Secretary-General said.
You can read the Secretary-General’s full speech here.
Why protest for climate change policy?
The Extinction Rebellion group has three main objectives, as found on their website.
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“The Government must tell the truth about the climate and wider ecological emergency, reverse inconsistent policies and work alongside the media to communicate with citizens.”
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“The Government must enact legally binding policy measures to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025 and to reduce consumption levels.”
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“A national Citizen’s Assembly to oversee the changes, as part of creating a democracy fit for purpose.”
I have put questions to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in response to these objectives and am awaiting comments.
I have also contacted the City of London Police with questions about the protest action.
I’ll update when I receive responses so keep an eye on my Instagram Stories.
Ben said more protest action was planned in different places across London over the next two weeks with protestors from across the UK and abroad joining to take part.
In lieu of government responses, I’ve found this interesting background on the UK government website to ensure balance in this article.
Green Great Britain: Climate Policy and Energy Transition
On 1st November 2018 Richard Wood, HM Ambassador to Norway Norwegian Climate Policy Foundation gave a speech on the UK’s climate policy, demonstrating what work is being done.
Here is an excerpt of that speech:
“We are moving ahead rapidly with deployment of other zero carbon energy sources. Over the summer, the UK generated record levels of solar power.
This success means we can confidently commit to a 2025 phase out date for coal generation, putting us ahead of most of the OECD nations and able to help other countries plan their own post coal transition.
We want to lead the world to move beyond coal, which is why last year the UK together with Canada launched the Powering Past Coal Alliance.”
The government’s Renewable Energy Trends report shows renewables’ share of electricity generation was a record 31.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2018.
There’s also a really interesting Public Attitudes Tracker report carried out by the BEIS which shows public attitudes towards various energy scenarios.
Keep watch on my Instagram Stories @roxannetaylormedia for any updates.
