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Hundreds of Extinction Rebellion (XR) protesters marched through central London on the last day of a four-day protest. Traffic came to a standstill as the XR drum band played continuously from the Houses of Parliament to the London Eye, and the march ended at the headquarters of oil giant Shell. He was part of a massive protest by the climate group called The Big One, which has been taking place in the city since Friday and has been supported by more than 200 organizations, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth.
On Monday, protesters carried banners with slogans such as "I want a hot girlfriend, not a hot planet" and "No more fossil earth."
Yaz Ashmawi, 28, a Surrey Strategy and Action XR supporter, said the protests had been an "incredible success" with more than 200 different organizations backing the campaign.
"Never before have so many people come to the center of power in London to demand meaningful action on the climate emergency, this is unprecedented," he said.
Ashmawi added: “The government is not in a position to listen to the science, the scientific consensus is that we cannot have any more fossil fuel infrastructure projects, period.
“The next step is that we have to find a way to get more people involved in more and more direct action.
"The real change comes when tens of thousands of people come back and stay day after day [to protest]."
XR called on the government to stop licensing fossil fuels, call a citizens' climate assembly, and finally focus on solving the climate crisis.
The group says more than 30,000 people have registered to attend the protest, which is its biggest form of action since announcing it would abandon its disruptive tactics.
Just Stop Oil members also joined the march after causing several traffic jams in London on Monday near Piccadilly Circus.
The group said their slow marches would continue throughout the week.
PA wire
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