Costa Rica’s El Plan Nacional de Descarbonizacion, or National Decarbonization Plan, articulates a path forward that would transform Costa Rica’s largest contributors to green house gasses: agriculture and vehicle emissions.

Claudia Dobles – the first lady and a civil planner by profession – explains the vision behind the initiative’s plan to overhaul the country’s public transportation to zero emissions. 

For Dobles, the decision to set these ambitious goals is “natural”, and “something that is already a part of the DNA of the Costa Rican people. Like when we decided to have a clean hydro-electric energy. When we decided to protect a large percentage of our territory for biodiversity and create national parks.”

Traffic pollution

The question on Costa Rican’s mind is the cost. An overhaul of this magnitude will have an immense cost, one that some Costa Ricans believe should be spent on improving their daily economic needs.

But Claudia Dobles believes that traffic, long commutes, and air pollution are already costing the Costa Rican economy dearly. 

A recent study published by the state estimates that Costa Rica is losing $2,500/person per year as a result of traffic and pollution.

Apart from the economic loss to the nation, Dobles emphasises the “loss in terms of ones’ quality of life when you have to spend three hours of your day in a traffic jam … How much does it cost us truly not to do this?”

Development loans have been seen by some as unnecessary spending by the state but she assures Costa Ricans that it is worth the investment. 

Next generations

While making the decision to go green may be natural, the way forward will require an enormous effort involving international cooperation and banks.

Dobles reminds us: “This is an investment. This in an investment in time with our families.  This is an investment in the competitiveness of our country.”

Dobles  goes on to state that, ambitious as it sounds, making the leap to zero emissions is the most responsible thing to do, “if we desire to leave the next generations a world in which they can really live.”

These Authors

Annika Beaulieu and Renzo Zanelli.

Suddenly climate change is on the front page of newspapers and leading news bulletins. What happened?

Millions of people tuned into BBC One to watch Climate Change: The Facts last week – an hour-long programme presented by David Attenborough that starkly laid out the central dangers that lurk in our near-future. 

The next day, hundreds of thousands of school children continued to strike for climate as part of the global Fridays4Future movement. Saturday saw more cat and mouse played between the Metropolitan Police force and Extinction Rebellion activists on Waterloo Bridge, Parliament Square, and Marble Arch.

On Sunday, London welcomed Greta Thunberg who has become an international leader of climate justice within a matter of months. On Monday she met with MPs and on Tuesday received a round of applause from the House of Commons.

Tipping point

Journalists must be relieved to be free of the immediate pressures of Brexit with the latest deadline kicked down the road to October. But that does not explain the rise of movements and a palpable shift in public opinion.

Is this the fabled tipping point in society which will lead to the rapid phase out of fossil fuels? 

If it is, then interest needs to be translated into actions. The risk is that today’s concern about climate change becomes yesterdays well-meaning fad. Even if there is a sudden shift in political and industrial direction, it will take years of sustained efforts to ensure that we and more importantly our children and future generations are spared from the worst ravages of climate breakdown.

This was my main concern when I began talking to filmmaker Paul Maple of Global Documentary three years ago.

He and I were increasingly frustrated at the almost complete absence of climate change on our screens. And when climate change did break through, it was always as the result of freak weather.

I’ve talked about climate change on the Jeremy Vine show and BBC News, but in both instances the hook was severe wild fires in which climate change was mentioned but was not the main event. 

BBC steps up

So presumably I’m very pleased to see Climate Change: The Facts primetime on BBC One. Yes, but.

The but is that while science took centre stage with wonderful contributions from many of the leading scientists, the proposed ways out of dangerous climate change presented in the final quarter of an hour was something of a let down.

While I understand the need to focus on the potential of new technologies, electric aircraft have nothing really to contribute.

But more fundamentally, the programme completely failed to explain just how radical the transformation to sustainability is going to be. The show quite bravely called-out the fossil fuel industry in their public denial of climate change while their own scientists were telling them the risks in private, but it completely avoided the elephant in the room – the dogma of growth. 

Paul and I were both convinced that any effective documentary about climate change must discuss economic growth.

New film

Our current political paradigm is one in which every policy is judged on the basis of whether it will grow the economy as measured in Gross Domestic Product.

It’s not as if there are individuals and groups that don’t push back on the primacy of economic growth. It’s just we never see them on the BBC or other mainstream TV channels. 

The end result has been The Race is On: Secrets and Solutions of Climate Change, a 39-minute documentary we made about climate change and what we in the UK and around the world can do to address it.

I talk to leading climate scientists who explain how humans are affecting the Earth’s climate. And yes, I talk to pioneers in solar and wind who are steadily transforming the UK’s electricity generating sector.

But I also talk to the community activists and pioneers in new economic thinking that gets to the heart of the matter – how can we turn around infrastructure, policies and most important mind-sets about climate change?  

Film for change

Our film has been something of a labour of love driven by a desire to see the real issues about climate change presented in a way that will have mass appeal and generate real impact.

We were fortunate to collaborate with a wide range of dedicated and inspirational contributors and fantastic researchers.

Much of this work has been channelled into an accompanying website for the film in which specific actions are laid out that anyone can take.

We will be touring the film across the UK. A typical format is a screening of the film in a community centre with a panel discussion or other forum for people to talk about how they can get engaged in climate change solutions. If you would like to book us then please get in touch. The film is released under Creative Commons and there are no charges for viewings. That said, tea and biscuits would be nice. 

In the meantime please visit climateracefilm.org, view the film, like, share, and help us spread the word about both the secrets and solutions of climate change. 

This Author

Dr James Dyke is director of the Global Sustainability Solutions MSc at the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter, and presenter of The Race is On: Secrets and Solutions of Climate Change. He tweets at @JamesGDyke.

Climate change activists in London have brought 10 days of  protests to an end with a closing ceremony.

Extinction Rebellion (XR) demonstrators gathered at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park on Thursday evening for the event marking an end to the current wave of blockades in the capital.

Skeena Rathor, vision co-ordinator for XR, welcomed the “rebels” to the event and described the crowd of hundreds of people sitting on the grass as “beautiful beings”.

Financial district

She said: “This is our pause ceremony. Welcome to the beginning of our pause.” Ms Rathor invited the eco-protesters to “begin a process of reflection” after the 10-day campaign, adding: “Thank you for what you have done this week.

“It is enormous. It is beyond words. We are here for all of us. And together we are all we need.” Answering a shout from the crowd, she added: “And for all species. Absolutely.”

On their final day, XR members temporarily blockaded the London Stock Exchange by gluing themselves across entrances to the trading hub in the City of London in the morning.

The action came after the group announced on Wednesday it would end blockades at Parliament Square and Marble Arch.

Members of the group targeted London’s financial districts to highlight what they call the business world’s “role in our collective suicide”, on the final day of protests.

Blockade

They were un-attached before being taken away in police vans, with Scotland Yard saying 13 people had been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespassing. The Exchange said all markets were open as normal.

Elsewhere, six protesters including 83-year-old grandfather Phil Kingston clambered on to the roof of a DLR train at Canary Wharf station in east London, holding signs saying “business as usual = death” and “don’t jail the canaries”.

British Transport Police (BTP) used ropes, ladders and harnesses to remove them before saying six people were arrested on suspicion of obstructing the railway.

In central London, dozens of XR members including drummers and banner-carriers demonstrated outside offices of bankers Goldman Sachs on Fleet Street.

The group moved down the road and blockaded it at intervals, with about a dozen buses seen stuck on either side of the blockade. Police said 13 people were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespassing in Fleet Street.

Extinction

Protesters later glued themselves to the front of the Treasury in Westminster. The nine protesters, two men and seven women, formed a chain of people preventing others from entering One Horse Guards Road.

An XR spokeswoman said Thursday’s targets were selected because “the financial industry is responsible for funding climate and ecological destruction and we are calling on them, the companies and the institutions that allow this to happen, to tell the truth”.

The spokeswoman added the sign “business as usual = death” was a reference to “the financial sector’s role in our collective suicide”.

XR said the public should expect more action “very soon”. Eco-protesters have urged ministers to declare a climate emergency to avoid a sixth mass extinction of species on Earth.

Emergency

Some 1,130 people have been arrested during the protests which started on April 15, while more than 10,000 police officers have been deployed. The Metropolitan Police said 69 people have been charged, while BTP has charged three people.

The action has seen Waterloo Bridge and Oxford Circus blocked, a “die-in” at the Natural History Museum, and activists gluing themselves to objects.

In a statement on Wednesday announcing the end of its action, XR said: “We would like to thank Londoners for opening their hearts and demonstrating their willingness to act on that truth.

“We know we have disrupted your lives. We do not do this lightly. We only do this because this is an emergency.”

This Author

Catherine Wylie is a reporter with the Press Association.

Climate change activists in London have brought 10 days of  protests to an end with a closing ceremony.

Extinction Rebellion (XR) demonstrators gathered at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park on Thursday evening for the event marking an end to the current wave of blockades in the capital.

Skeena Rathor, vision co-ordinator for XR, welcomed the “rebels” to the event and described the crowd of hundreds of people sitting on the grass as “beautiful beings”.

Financial district

She said: “This is our pause ceremony. Welcome to the beginning of our pause.” Ms Rathor invited the eco-protesters to “begin a process of reflection” after the 10-day campaign, adding: “Thank you for what you have done this week.

“It is enormous. It is beyond words. We are here for all of us. And together we are all we need.” Answering a shout from the crowd, she added: “And for all species. Absolutely.”

On their final day, XR members temporarily blockaded the London Stock Exchange by gluing themselves across entrances to the trading hub in the City of London in the morning.

The action came after the group announced on Wednesday it would end blockades at Parliament Square and Marble Arch.

Members of the group targeted London’s financial districts to highlight what they call the business world’s “role in our collective suicide”, on the final day of protests.

Blockade

They were un-attached before being taken away in police vans, with Scotland Yard saying 13 people had been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespassing. The Exchange said all markets were open as normal.

Elsewhere, six protesters including 83-year-old grandfather Phil Kingston clambered on to the roof of a DLR train at Canary Wharf station in east London, holding signs saying “business as usual = death” and “don’t jail the canaries”.

British Transport Police (BTP) used ropes, ladders and harnesses to remove them before saying six people were arrested on suspicion of obstructing the railway.

In central London, dozens of XR members including drummers and banner-carriers demonstrated outside offices of bankers Goldman Sachs on Fleet Street.

The group moved down the road and blockaded it at intervals, with about a dozen buses seen stuck on either side of the blockade. Police said 13 people were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespassing in Fleet Street.

Extinction

Protesters later glued themselves to the front of the Treasury in Westminster. The nine protesters, two men and seven women, formed a chain of people preventing others from entering One Horse Guards Road.

An XR spokeswoman said Thursday’s targets were selected because “the financial industry is responsible for funding climate and ecological destruction and we are calling on them, the companies and the institutions that allow this to happen, to tell the truth”.

The spokeswoman added the sign “business as usual = death” was a reference to “the financial sector’s role in our collective suicide”.

XR said the public should expect more action “very soon”. Eco-protesters have urged ministers to declare a climate emergency to avoid a sixth mass extinction of species on Earth.

Emergency

Some 1,130 people have been arrested during the protests which started on April 15, while more than 10,000 police officers have been deployed. The Metropolitan Police said 69 people have been charged, while BTP has charged three people.

The action has seen Waterloo Bridge and Oxford Circus blocked, a “die-in” at the Natural History Museum, and activists gluing themselves to objects.

In a statement on Wednesday announcing the end of its action, XR said: “We would like to thank Londoners for opening their hearts and demonstrating their willingness to act on that truth.

“We know we have disrupted your lives. We do not do this lightly. We only do this because this is an emergency.”

This Author

Catherine Wylie is a reporter with the Press Association.

Climate change activists in London have brought 10 days of  protests to an end with a closing ceremony.

Extinction Rebellion (XR) demonstrators gathered at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park on Thursday evening for the event marking an end to the current wave of blockades in the capital.

Skeena Rathor, vision co-ordinator for XR, welcomed the “rebels” to the event and described the crowd of hundreds of people sitting on the grass as “beautiful beings”.

Financial district

She said: “This is our pause ceremony. Welcome to the beginning of our pause.” Ms Rathor invited the eco-protesters to “begin a process of reflection” after the 10-day campaign, adding: “Thank you for what you have done this week.

“It is enormous. It is beyond words. We are here for all of us. And together we are all we need.” Answering a shout from the crowd, she added: “And for all species. Absolutely.”

On their final day, XR members temporarily blockaded the London Stock Exchange by gluing themselves across entrances to the trading hub in the City of London in the morning.

The action came after the group announced on Wednesday it would end blockades at Parliament Square and Marble Arch.

Members of the group targeted London’s financial districts to highlight what they call the business world’s “role in our collective suicide”, on the final day of protests.

Blockade

They were un-attached before being taken away in police vans, with Scotland Yard saying 13 people had been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespassing. The Exchange said all markets were open as normal.

Elsewhere, six protesters including 83-year-old grandfather Phil Kingston clambered on to the roof of a DLR train at Canary Wharf station in east London, holding signs saying “business as usual = death” and “don’t jail the canaries”.

British Transport Police (BTP) used ropes, ladders and harnesses to remove them before saying six people were arrested on suspicion of obstructing the railway.

In central London, dozens of XR members including drummers and banner-carriers demonstrated outside offices of bankers Goldman Sachs on Fleet Street.

The group moved down the road and blockaded it at intervals, with about a dozen buses seen stuck on either side of the blockade. Police said 13 people were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespassing in Fleet Street.

Extinction

Protesters later glued themselves to the front of the Treasury in Westminster. The nine protesters, two men and seven women, formed a chain of people preventing others from entering One Horse Guards Road.

An XR spokeswoman said Thursday’s targets were selected because “the financial industry is responsible for funding climate and ecological destruction and we are calling on them, the companies and the institutions that allow this to happen, to tell the truth”.

The spokeswoman added the sign “business as usual = death” was a reference to “the financial sector’s role in our collective suicide”.

XR said the public should expect more action “very soon”. Eco-protesters have urged ministers to declare a climate emergency to avoid a sixth mass extinction of species on Earth.

Emergency

Some 1,130 people have been arrested during the protests which started on April 15, while more than 10,000 police officers have been deployed. The Metropolitan Police said 69 people have been charged, while BTP has charged three people.

The action has seen Waterloo Bridge and Oxford Circus blocked, a “die-in” at the Natural History Museum, and activists gluing themselves to objects.

In a statement on Wednesday announcing the end of its action, XR said: “We would like to thank Londoners for opening their hearts and demonstrating their willingness to act on that truth.

“We know we have disrupted your lives. We do not do this lightly. We only do this because this is an emergency.”

This Author

Catherine Wylie is a reporter with the Press Association.

Climate change activists in London have brought 10 days of  protests to an end with a closing ceremony.

Extinction Rebellion (XR) demonstrators gathered at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park on Thursday evening for the event marking an end to the current wave of blockades in the capital.

Skeena Rathor, vision co-ordinator for XR, welcomed the “rebels” to the event and described the crowd of hundreds of people sitting on the grass as “beautiful beings”.

Financial district

She said: “This is our pause ceremony. Welcome to the beginning of our pause.” Ms Rathor invited the eco-protesters to “begin a process of reflection” after the 10-day campaign, adding: “Thank you for what you have done this week.

“It is enormous. It is beyond words. We are here for all of us. And together we are all we need.” Answering a shout from the crowd, she added: “And for all species. Absolutely.”

On their final day, XR members temporarily blockaded the London Stock Exchange by gluing themselves across entrances to the trading hub in the City of London in the morning.

The action came after the group announced on Wednesday it would end blockades at Parliament Square and Marble Arch.

Members of the group targeted London’s financial districts to highlight what they call the business world’s “role in our collective suicide”, on the final day of protests.

Blockade

They were un-attached before being taken away in police vans, with Scotland Yard saying 13 people had been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespassing. The Exchange said all markets were open as normal.

Elsewhere, six protesters including 83-year-old grandfather Phil Kingston clambered on to the roof of a DLR train at Canary Wharf station in east London, holding signs saying “business as usual = death” and “don’t jail the canaries”.

British Transport Police (BTP) used ropes, ladders and harnesses to remove them before saying six people were arrested on suspicion of obstructing the railway.

In central London, dozens of XR members including drummers and banner-carriers demonstrated outside offices of bankers Goldman Sachs on Fleet Street.

The group moved down the road and blockaded it at intervals, with about a dozen buses seen stuck on either side of the blockade. Police said 13 people were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespassing in Fleet Street.

Extinction

Protesters later glued themselves to the front of the Treasury in Westminster. The nine protesters, two men and seven women, formed a chain of people preventing others from entering One Horse Guards Road.

An XR spokeswoman said Thursday’s targets were selected because “the financial industry is responsible for funding climate and ecological destruction and we are calling on them, the companies and the institutions that allow this to happen, to tell the truth”.

The spokeswoman added the sign “business as usual = death” was a reference to “the financial sector’s role in our collective suicide”.

XR said the public should expect more action “very soon”. Eco-protesters have urged ministers to declare a climate emergency to avoid a sixth mass extinction of species on Earth.

Emergency

Some 1,130 people have been arrested during the protests which started on April 15, while more than 10,000 police officers have been deployed. The Metropolitan Police said 69 people have been charged, while BTP has charged three people.

The action has seen Waterloo Bridge and Oxford Circus blocked, a “die-in” at the Natural History Museum, and activists gluing themselves to objects.

In a statement on Wednesday announcing the end of its action, XR said: “We would like to thank Londoners for opening their hearts and demonstrating their willingness to act on that truth.

“We know we have disrupted your lives. We do not do this lightly. We only do this because this is an emergency.”

This Author

Catherine Wylie is a reporter with the Press Association.

Climate change activists in London have brought 10 days of  protests to an end with a closing ceremony.

Extinction Rebellion (XR) demonstrators gathered at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park on Thursday evening for the event marking an end to the current wave of blockades in the capital.

Skeena Rathor, vision co-ordinator for XR, welcomed the “rebels” to the event and described the crowd of hundreds of people sitting on the grass as “beautiful beings”.

Financial district

She said: “This is our pause ceremony. Welcome to the beginning of our pause.” Ms Rathor invited the eco-protesters to “begin a process of reflection” after the 10-day campaign, adding: “Thank you for what you have done this week.

“It is enormous. It is beyond words. We are here for all of us. And together we are all we need.” Answering a shout from the crowd, she added: “And for all species. Absolutely.”

On their final day, XR members temporarily blockaded the London Stock Exchange by gluing themselves across entrances to the trading hub in the City of London in the morning.

The action came after the group announced on Wednesday it would end blockades at Parliament Square and Marble Arch.

Members of the group targeted London’s financial districts to highlight what they call the business world’s “role in our collective suicide”, on the final day of protests.

Blockade

They were un-attached before being taken away in police vans, with Scotland Yard saying 13 people had been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespassing. The Exchange said all markets were open as normal.

Elsewhere, six protesters including 83-year-old grandfather Phil Kingston clambered on to the roof of a DLR train at Canary Wharf station in east London, holding signs saying “business as usual = death” and “don’t jail the canaries”.

British Transport Police (BTP) used ropes, ladders and harnesses to remove them before saying six people were arrested on suspicion of obstructing the railway.

In central London, dozens of XR members including drummers and banner-carriers demonstrated outside offices of bankers Goldman Sachs on Fleet Street.

The group moved down the road and blockaded it at intervals, with about a dozen buses seen stuck on either side of the blockade. Police said 13 people were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespassing in Fleet Street.

Extinction

Protesters later glued themselves to the front of the Treasury in Westminster. The nine protesters, two men and seven women, formed a chain of people preventing others from entering One Horse Guards Road.

An XR spokeswoman said Thursday’s targets were selected because “the financial industry is responsible for funding climate and ecological destruction and we are calling on them, the companies and the institutions that allow this to happen, to tell the truth”.

The spokeswoman added the sign “business as usual = death” was a reference to “the financial sector’s role in our collective suicide”.

XR said the public should expect more action “very soon”. Eco-protesters have urged ministers to declare a climate emergency to avoid a sixth mass extinction of species on Earth.

Emergency

Some 1,130 people have been arrested during the protests which started on April 15, while more than 10,000 police officers have been deployed. The Metropolitan Police said 69 people have been charged, while BTP has charged three people.

The action has seen Waterloo Bridge and Oxford Circus blocked, a “die-in” at the Natural History Museum, and activists gluing themselves to objects.

In a statement on Wednesday announcing the end of its action, XR said: “We would like to thank Londoners for opening their hearts and demonstrating their willingness to act on that truth.

“We know we have disrupted your lives. We do not do this lightly. We only do this because this is an emergency.”

This Author

Catherine Wylie is a reporter with the Press Association.

Climate change activists in London have brought 10 days of  protests to an end with a closing ceremony.

Extinction Rebellion (XR) demonstrators gathered at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park on Thursday evening for the event marking an end to the current wave of blockades in the capital.

Skeena Rathor, vision co-ordinator for XR, welcomed the “rebels” to the event and described the crowd of hundreds of people sitting on the grass as “beautiful beings”.

Financial district

She said: “This is our pause ceremony. Welcome to the beginning of our pause.” Ms Rathor invited the eco-protesters to “begin a process of reflection” after the 10-day campaign, adding: “Thank you for what you have done this week.

“It is enormous. It is beyond words. We are here for all of us. And together we are all we need.” Answering a shout from the crowd, she added: “And for all species. Absolutely.”

On their final day, XR members temporarily blockaded the London Stock Exchange by gluing themselves across entrances to the trading hub in the City of London in the morning.

The action came after the group announced on Wednesday it would end blockades at Parliament Square and Marble Arch.

Members of the group targeted London’s financial districts to highlight what they call the business world’s “role in our collective suicide”, on the final day of protests.

Blockade

They were un-attached before being taken away in police vans, with Scotland Yard saying 13 people had been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespassing. The Exchange said all markets were open as normal.

Elsewhere, six protesters including 83-year-old grandfather Phil Kingston clambered on to the roof of a DLR train at Canary Wharf station in east London, holding signs saying “business as usual = death” and “don’t jail the canaries”.

British Transport Police (BTP) used ropes, ladders and harnesses to remove them before saying six people were arrested on suspicion of obstructing the railway.

In central London, dozens of XR members including drummers and banner-carriers demonstrated outside offices of bankers Goldman Sachs on Fleet Street.

The group moved down the road and blockaded it at intervals, with about a dozen buses seen stuck on either side of the blockade. Police said 13 people were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespassing in Fleet Street.

Extinction

Protesters later glued themselves to the front of the Treasury in Westminster. The nine protesters, two men and seven women, formed a chain of people preventing others from entering One Horse Guards Road.

An XR spokeswoman said Thursday’s targets were selected because “the financial industry is responsible for funding climate and ecological destruction and we are calling on them, the companies and the institutions that allow this to happen, to tell the truth”.

The spokeswoman added the sign “business as usual = death” was a reference to “the financial sector’s role in our collective suicide”.

XR said the public should expect more action “very soon”. Eco-protesters have urged ministers to declare a climate emergency to avoid a sixth mass extinction of species on Earth.

Emergency

Some 1,130 people have been arrested during the protests which started on April 15, while more than 10,000 police officers have been deployed. The Metropolitan Police said 69 people have been charged, while BTP has charged three people.

The action has seen Waterloo Bridge and Oxford Circus blocked, a “die-in” at the Natural History Museum, and activists gluing themselves to objects.

In a statement on Wednesday announcing the end of its action, XR said: “We would like to thank Londoners for opening their hearts and demonstrating their willingness to act on that truth.

“We know we have disrupted your lives. We do not do this lightly. We only do this because this is an emergency.”

This Author

Catherine Wylie is a reporter with the Press Association.

Climate change activists in London have brought 10 days of  protests to an end with a closing ceremony.

Extinction Rebellion (XR) demonstrators gathered at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park on Thursday evening for the event marking an end to the current wave of blockades in the capital.

Skeena Rathor, vision co-ordinator for XR, welcomed the “rebels” to the event and described the crowd of hundreds of people sitting on the grass as “beautiful beings”.

Financial district

She said: “This is our pause ceremony. Welcome to the beginning of our pause.” Ms Rathor invited the eco-protesters to “begin a process of reflection” after the 10-day campaign, adding: “Thank you for what you have done this week.

“It is enormous. It is beyond words. We are here for all of us. And together we are all we need.” Answering a shout from the crowd, she added: “And for all species. Absolutely.”

On their final day, XR members temporarily blockaded the London Stock Exchange by gluing themselves across entrances to the trading hub in the City of London in the morning.

The action came after the group announced on Wednesday it would end blockades at Parliament Square and Marble Arch.

Members of the group targeted London’s financial districts to highlight what they call the business world’s “role in our collective suicide”, on the final day of protests.

Blockade

They were un-attached before being taken away in police vans, with Scotland Yard saying 13 people had been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespassing. The Exchange said all markets were open as normal.

Elsewhere, six protesters including 83-year-old grandfather Phil Kingston clambered on to the roof of a DLR train at Canary Wharf station in east London, holding signs saying “business as usual = death” and “don’t jail the canaries”.

British Transport Police (BTP) used ropes, ladders and harnesses to remove them before saying six people were arrested on suspicion of obstructing the railway.

In central London, dozens of XR members including drummers and banner-carriers demonstrated outside offices of bankers Goldman Sachs on Fleet Street.

The group moved down the road and blockaded it at intervals, with about a dozen buses seen stuck on either side of the blockade. Police said 13 people were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespassing in Fleet Street.

Extinction

Protesters later glued themselves to the front of the Treasury in Westminster. The nine protesters, two men and seven women, formed a chain of people preventing others from entering One Horse Guards Road.

An XR spokeswoman said Thursday’s targets were selected because “the financial industry is responsible for funding climate and ecological destruction and we are calling on them, the companies and the institutions that allow this to happen, to tell the truth”.

The spokeswoman added the sign “business as usual = death” was a reference to “the financial sector’s role in our collective suicide”.

XR said the public should expect more action “very soon”. Eco-protesters have urged ministers to declare a climate emergency to avoid a sixth mass extinction of species on Earth.

Emergency

Some 1,130 people have been arrested during the protests which started on April 15, while more than 10,000 police officers have been deployed. The Metropolitan Police said 69 people have been charged, while BTP has charged three people.

The action has seen Waterloo Bridge and Oxford Circus blocked, a “die-in” at the Natural History Museum, and activists gluing themselves to objects.

In a statement on Wednesday announcing the end of its action, XR said: “We would like to thank Londoners for opening their hearts and demonstrating their willingness to act on that truth.

“We know we have disrupted your lives. We do not do this lightly. We only do this because this is an emergency.”

This Author

Catherine Wylie is a reporter with the Press Association.

Climate change activists in London have brought 10 days of  protests to an end with a closing ceremony.

Extinction Rebellion (XR) demonstrators gathered at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park on Thursday evening for the event marking an end to the current wave of blockades in the capital.

Skeena Rathor, vision co-ordinator for XR, welcomed the “rebels” to the event and described the crowd of hundreds of people sitting on the grass as “beautiful beings”.

Financial district

She said: “This is our pause ceremony. Welcome to the beginning of our pause.” Ms Rathor invited the eco-protesters to “begin a process of reflection” after the 10-day campaign, adding: “Thank you for what you have done this week.

“It is enormous. It is beyond words. We are here for all of us. And together we are all we need.” Answering a shout from the crowd, she added: “And for all species. Absolutely.”

On their final day, XR members temporarily blockaded the London Stock Exchange by gluing themselves across entrances to the trading hub in the City of London in the morning.

The action came after the group announced on Wednesday it would end blockades at Parliament Square and Marble Arch.

Members of the group targeted London’s financial districts to highlight what they call the business world’s “role in our collective suicide”, on the final day of protests.

Blockade

They were un-attached before being taken away in police vans, with Scotland Yard saying 13 people had been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespassing. The Exchange said all markets were open as normal.

Elsewhere, six protesters including 83-year-old grandfather Phil Kingston clambered on to the roof of a DLR train at Canary Wharf station in east London, holding signs saying “business as usual = death” and “don’t jail the canaries”.

British Transport Police (BTP) used ropes, ladders and harnesses to remove them before saying six people were arrested on suspicion of obstructing the railway.

In central London, dozens of XR members including drummers and banner-carriers demonstrated outside offices of bankers Goldman Sachs on Fleet Street.

The group moved down the road and blockaded it at intervals, with about a dozen buses seen stuck on either side of the blockade. Police said 13 people were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespassing in Fleet Street.

Extinction

Protesters later glued themselves to the front of the Treasury in Westminster. The nine protesters, two men and seven women, formed a chain of people preventing others from entering One Horse Guards Road.

An XR spokeswoman said Thursday’s targets were selected because “the financial industry is responsible for funding climate and ecological destruction and we are calling on them, the companies and the institutions that allow this to happen, to tell the truth”.

The spokeswoman added the sign “business as usual = death” was a reference to “the financial sector’s role in our collective suicide”.

XR said the public should expect more action “very soon”. Eco-protesters have urged ministers to declare a climate emergency to avoid a sixth mass extinction of species on Earth.

Emergency

Some 1,130 people have been arrested during the protests which started on April 15, while more than 10,000 police officers have been deployed. The Metropolitan Police said 69 people have been charged, while BTP has charged three people.

The action has seen Waterloo Bridge and Oxford Circus blocked, a “die-in” at the Natural History Museum, and activists gluing themselves to objects.

In a statement on Wednesday announcing the end of its action, XR said: “We would like to thank Londoners for opening their hearts and demonstrating their willingness to act on that truth.

“We know we have disrupted your lives. We do not do this lightly. We only do this because this is an emergency.”

This Author

Catherine Wylie is a reporter with the Press Association.