Extinction Rebellion: ‘100,000 protesters’ to gather outside Parliament in April

Environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion (XR) is organising a huge, ongoing ‘action’ outside the Houses of Parliament later this month.

The four-day event dubbed as ‘The Big One’, is scheduled to take place from Friday April 21 to Monday April 24, and the group is hoping for 100,000 people to attend.

It’s been four years since XR brought parts of London to a standstill, parking a pink boat in Oxford Circus and resulting in the UK parliament declaring a climate emergency.

Now with the support of 70 organisations, the group is planning to gather throughout Westminster and at the Houses of Parliament and the event promises to be family-friendly, accessible, welcoming, creative and engaging.

This comes as climate scientists at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released their synthesis report last month warning that the carbon budget for 1.5C of global warming will be exhausted by 2030 if we keep on emitting at our current rate.

What is “The Big One”?

Extinction Rebellion says the four-day action is "biggest mobilisation campaign XR has ever undertaken.”

The group however has described the upcoming event as a “nonviolent, direct action” which will not include roadblocks, or locking on or glueing on to anything.

XR also said they do not plans to throw paint at buildings, or anything of that nature.

“Awash with colour and culture, the politically powerful streets of Westminster will be transformed with People’s Pickets outside government departments and a diverse programme of speakers, performers and workshops,” Extinction Rebellion UK says on its website.

The schedule so far includes:

• Friday 21st – Unite to Survive. Westminster is filled with flags, banners and people.
• Saturday 22nd – Earth Day. An enormous, celebration & family-friendly march for biodiversity!
• Sunday 23rd – Running Out of Time! The Big One coexists with the London Marathon.
• Monday 24th – Choose Your Future. Parliament returns, the demand is delivered.

What do Extinction Rebellion want to achieve?

Extinction Rebellion wants to trigger policy change, to end the use of fossil fuels in this country and to get politicians and those in power to take threats to the climate and the environment more seriously,

The eco group also wants to move towards a future democracy which is citizen-led, rather than having decisions which affect the many made by the few in power.

How to get involved?

So far 22,721 people have signed up for the event, according to Extinction Rebellion’s official account.

You can also donate to “The Big One’s” Crowdfunder page which has raised almost £165,000 so far.

Donations are being used to support local groups, fund legal support and pay for advertising and marketing.

Check their website for ways to volunteer and get involved.

Anna Hyde of Extinction Rebellion UK, said: “The climate, ecological and biodiversity emergencies are not distant threats – they are happening right now, unevenly affecting many – ultimately affecting everyone, and life on Earth is at stake.

“Covered up by corrupt media, those in power continue to profit from the crises unravelling around us. The fossil fuel era must end, and restoration of the world must begin.

“This is where solidarity comes in.”

Dr. Caroline Vincent of Scientists for XR, said: “Disruptive protest has done so much to change the conversation around the climate and ecological emergency over the last 4 years; more and more people are waking up to realities of the climate crisis, and more and more are saying they want immediate and decisive action.

“The reality is however, that as the general public becomes more concerned, the government in the UK backtracks on its already meagre climate promises, sanctioning a new coal mine in Cumbria at the end of 2022.

“So, the government isn’t listening and the only way that changes is by all of these newly concerned people recognising their own power and stepping into active resistance.

“At the same time, the government is clamping down on the right to protest and criminalising those raising the alarm.

“In the current circumstances it’s clear that only larger numbers of people taking peaceful action together over prolonged periods will prove impossible to ignore.”