CLIMATE crisis campaigners blocked a busy Glasgow city centre road with a 25ft purple boat yesterday as part of planned action across five UK cities.
Extinction Rebellion, which has organised several rallies and protests against climate change across the UK this year, launched its “summer uprising” in Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds and London.
Protesters in each city unveiled a large coloured boat, each named after an environmental activist, with the message “Act Now” on it.
In Glasgow, the vessel was placed on Trongate, covering the intersection of Gallowgate and High Street by the Merchant City clock tower.
A message reading “The future you fear is already here” is on the other side of the boat.
READ MORE: Extinction Rebellion protesters use boat to form road block in Glasgow
Elliot Blaauw, 66, from Inverness was one of scores of campaigners who attended the protest.
He said: “Waters are rising, we are rising too. We’re all going to take to the boats.
“The Clyde will overtop in 20 years, so that’s what the boat is for, it’s a symbol of the water is rising.”
He criticised the governments for declaring climate emergencies then opening new areas for drilling for oil.
He said: “They’re vowing to go for every last drop of oil.
“Scientists tell us that the oil we have now is enough to send the temperatures to two, three degrees.”
He added: “I’m a grandparent, my interests are my children and my grandchildren. Drilling for more oil – which bit of climate emergency don’t they get?”
Blaauw said people had been supportive of the protest, adding: “This is act now – they say they care about climate change, they say they’ve heard us, they say they understand the scientists.
“Scientists say if we keep on like this we’re going to two, three, four degrees.
“We must act now, we’re running out of time. Two more years and our climate budget is blown.”
During the protest, which had a heavy police presence, the Trongate was closed to all eastbound traffic between Albion Street and High Street.
Glasgow City Council urged road users to consider taking other routes and warned there could be some congestion on surrounding streets.
Meanwhile in England, protesters targeted Leeds’ financial district in an effort to draw attention to the links between banking and the climate emergency.
And in Wales, Extinction Rebellion parked a large green boat outside of Cardiff Castle and held campaign banners as commuters to subjected to delays during morning rush hour.
READ MORE: Wee Rebellion protesters hold ‘die-in’ outside Scottish Parliament
Tents were also set up on grass in front of Cardiff City Hall – the home of the Welsh capital’s local government – as campaigners looked set to camp there ahead of further disruption in the coming days.
A leaflet handed out by the protesters said they were working “to prevent the breakdown of humanity’s life support system, the Earth”, and added they were calling for the UK Government to create a “national assembly” to implement climate change solutions.
Stephen Lingwood, 37, from Cardiff, said: “People are dying right now of climate chaos in places like India. It’s only going to get worse.
“We’re at the beginning of the sixth mass extinction and a climate genocide and the Government’s inaction is, in my view, criminally irresponsible.”
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