Three Extinction Rebellion protesters locked themselves in a block structure in the middle of a busy intersection in downtown Vancouver.
Article content
Five more climate activists were arrested on Friday as they concluded a two-week massive civil disobedience campaign in Vancouver to demand that the government take more action to address the climate crisis.
Commercial
This ad has not been uploaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
The action comes as delegates from around the world gather at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow on Sunday.
Three men and two women were arrested after refusing to leave the intersection at Burrard and Pacific and blocking traffic for several hours, Vancouver police spokesman Sgt. Steve Addison on Saturday.
Extinction Rebellion, the climate activist group that has been organizing the series of protests, says three of its members locked themselves in a block structure on Friday night. The block was covered in metallic cloth and blue tarps, painted to represent Earth.
The group alleges that the police were “tough” on the protesters in pulling them out of the intersection.
Addison said three protesters had locked themselves in together using some sort of device, but broke free after Vancouver Fire Rescue Services arrived to cut them off.
Commercial
This ad has not been uploaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Two protesters lying in the middle of the road were taken out of the area and arrested, it added.
Friday’s protest marked the end of 14 consecutive days of action in Vancouver, including several road blocks in downtown Vancouver and the disruption of traffic to Vancouver International Airport.
A total of 54 people were arrested during the two weeks, including one arrest in Nanaimo, according to the group.
Extinction Rebellion Canada said it wants a commitment from the provincial and federal governments to end fossil fuel subsidies at the Glasgow conference.
The group says it is unacceptable for leaders to claim to be climate leaders when they are still funding companies that contribute to human-caused climate change.
Commercial
This ad has not been uploaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
A recent report of the United Nations International Panel on Climate Change that UN Secretary General António Guterres called a “code red for humanity”, says that crossing the warming threshold of 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels it is close and will be overtaken unless the world dramatically reduces its CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade.
“This report should sound like a death sentence for coal and fossil fuels, before they destroy our planet,” Guterres said, adding that there should be no new coal plants built after 2021 and that countries should end. to all new fossil fuel exploration and production and switch to renewables. Energy.
The IPCC has been producing reports evaluating the science of climate change since 1988. The reports are the consensus of the world’s scientists and governments.
Reference-vancouversun.com