Stroud District Green Party has announced its support for the day of peaceful civil disobedience planned for Saturday, 17 November throughout the UK.
Under the banner of Extinction Rebellion, coordinated actions have already taken place in Stroud, London and across the country demanding the government take immediate steps to reach zero carbon emissions by 2030. The recent report by scientists of the IPCC has declared a global emergency and stated that the earth has 12 years in which to act to avoid environmental catastrophe. To survive, Extinction Rebellion is calling on people everywhere to take radical action based on science not political advantage.
Stroud District Green Party supports those taking non-violent direct action with the aim of avoiding the unacceptable impact and risks of runaway climate breakdown despite possible inconveniences to daily life.
A letter published in the Guardian 26/10/18 and signed by Southwest MEP Dr Molly Scott-Cato and Stroud MP Dr David Drew (amongst others) says “When a government wilfully abrogates its responsibility to protect its citizens from harm and to secure the future for generations to come, it has failed in its most essential duty of stewardship. The “social contract” has been broken, and it is therefore not only our right, but our moral duty to bypass the government’s inaction and flagrant dereliction of duty, and to rebel to defend life itself.”
Sarah Lunnon, former Green Party County Councillor for Stroud said “the environment as an optional ‘add-on’ to business as usual has failed: we see rising fossil fuel use, the continuing loss of our wildflowers and wildlife, air pollution increasing, plastic poisoning our food supplies. If our leaders do not act on the science the near future is very, very bleak. Those of us alive today are likely to watch ‘the lights go out’, face food shortages and devastating weather events – in a word we face catastrophe.”
She added “The government has failed so far to protect us, to survive we have to demand action, radical action, it is for this reason that the Green Party stands with the Extinction Rebellion and urges widespread participation.”
Notes
The Three demands of the Extinction Rebellion declaration:
- The Government must tell the truth about the climate and wider ecological emergency, reverse inconsistent policies and work alongside the media to communicate with citizens.
- The Government must enact legally binding policy measures to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025 and to reduce consumption levels.
- A national Citizen’s Assembly to oversee the changes, as part of creating a democracy fit for purpose
To understand why this action is needed now, please watch Gail Bradbrook’s inspiring video on the Extinction Rebellion web site. You can also follow the movement on twitter or on facebook.