What is the Rebellion of extinction and why do you want to collapse 60 cities in the world?

Roger Hallam is the author of this sentence and one of the founders of Extinction Rebellion (XR), an environmental group that emerged in London (UK) and seeks to influence and change the environmental policies of governments.

His bet is "to peacefully occupy the power centers and close them", but not only in the British capital; They also operate in other world cities such as Berlin (Germany), New York (United States) or Sydney (Australia).

The organization began to conduct 15 days of civil disobedience as of Monday, October 7 in more than 60 cities worldwide – from Madrid (Spain) to Cape Town (South Africa) – to denounce the inaction "criminal." politicians face the "climate and ecological emergency".

In Latin America, they called for demonstrations in Mexico City (Mexico), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Bogotá (Colombia), Santiago (Chile) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).

On Monday, protests took place in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Austria, France and New Zealand.

As a result of the protests, 30 people were accused of committing crimes in Sydney after hundreds of people blocked a road, while more than 100 were arrested in Amsterdam, over 270 in London and one in London. another number not specified in New York and New Zealand. .

In New York, activists shed fake blood on the famous bronze bull statue on Wall Street.

But who are the rebellion of extinction and how do they hope to achieve their goals?

Facts about the extinction rebellion

Target 2025: zero carbon emissions

300,000 subscribers on Facebook

1,130 people arrested during the April events in London

2018 year of foundation of the group

Source: BBC research

This social movement created in the United Kingdom aims to influence global environmental policies through non-violent resistance.

During a series of mass demonstrations in April in London, more than 1,100 people were arrested for blocking the streets of the British capital.

Then, the group has already received criticism for wanting to stop the metro service, which threatens again in October.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said a few months ago that, although he "shares the passion" of the activists, he was "extremely concerned" by his plans to change public transportation.

This time, the organizers announced that the protests in London would be "five times larger" than those held in April, and announced that they would block roads, bridges and transportation.

How were the events born?

The first actions of the organization took place in the United Kingdom in 2018, in response to the slow progress of environmental policies.

Among other things, members of the group cut bridges, poured buckets of fake blood on the outskirts of Downing Street (the official residence and the Prime Minister's Office) and appeared half-naked in Parliament.

They define themselves as "an international movement that uses nonviolent civil disobedience to effect radical change in order to minimize the risk of man's extinction and ecological collapse".

Map showing the countries of Latin America and the world that consume more natural resources (and their impact on the planet)

They consider that nonviolent civil disobedience and rebellion are "necessary".

"We collectively create the structures we need to challenge power, and anyone who follows our principles and values ​​can act on behalf of Extinction Rebellion," they say on their website.

And how long do they plan to carry out their protests?

"From April 15, 2019 to our victory," they said six months ago.

"Life on Earth is in crisis," reads on its website. "Life itself is threatened."

"We listen to history call us from the future, we envision a new world of love, respect and regeneration in which we restore the complex web of life."

"The future is in us, in the iron love for our children, in need of helping a stranger stranger, in our desire to forgive, even if it seems to be asking too much."

Presence in Latin America

Although the movement has shown its greatest strength in London, organizers say that there have been protests in more than 80 cities in 33 different countries.

They are also based in the United States, in cities like Seattle and New York.

As for South America, its diffusion is more modest, although there are local groups in Bogotá (under the name of Rexistence Against Extinction), in Buenos Aires (Argentina), in Santiago de Chile and Sao Paulo (Brazil).

In recent months, the movement has increased, but less than in European cities such as Brussels, Berlin, Istanbul, Edinburgh, Barcelona or Lisbon.

What they ask for

On his website, summarize your needs in three ways:

1. Governments must tell the truth and declare a climatic and ecological emergency, collaborating with other institutions to communicate the urgency of change.

2. Stop the loss of biodiversity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2025 in the UK.

3. Create a citizens' assembly that guides the government and decides what changes are needed in terms of climate and ecological justice.

Are your requests realistic?

The group's plans seem unrealistic, according to the analysis of the Center for Alternative Technology (CAT), a charitable organization dedicated to finding positive solutions to environmental change.

Achieving zero net carbon emissions in 2025 would be an extremely difficult goal for the UK as the government is currently working on a plan to reach it by 2050.

To achieve this in 2025, radical changes will have to be made throughout the country.

Researchers at Zero Carbon Britain, a CAT project to promote a no-emissions company, have suggested that the UK would need about 130,000 additional wind turbines.

In addition, all gas boilers should be replaced by electricity and renewables should be massively expanded, on a scale never seen, to meet the additional demand.

There would also be changes in the diet: people should consume less meat and dairy products.

In addition, air traffic should be severely restricted.

But Gail Bradbrook, co-founder of the organization, appeals to the politicians' commitment.

"This is not the time to be realistic, it's time for humanity to completely change course," Bradbrook said.

"It is not a matter of installing solar panels on some roofs, we have delayed it so much that we must now do something almost miraculous to remedy this situation."

* This article was published in April 2019 and has been updated with events organized for October 2019 by the Extinction Rebellion group.

BBC