Extinction Rebellion

>January 2020 - Extinction Rebellion on Trial
>January 2020 - UK Climate Assembly meets in Birmingham

From the XR website

Extinction Rebellion is an international movement that uses non-violent civil disobedience in an attempt to halt mass extinction and minimise the risk of social collapse.

We are facing an unprecedented global emergency.  Life on Earth is in crisis: scientists agree we have entered a period of abrupt climate breakdown, and we are in the midst of a mass extinction of our own making.

We are unprepared for the danger our future holds. We face floods, wildfires, extreme weather, crop failure, mass displacement and the breakdown of society. The time for denial is over. It is time to act.

Conventional approaches of voting, lobbying, petitions and protest have failed because powerful political and economic interests prevent change. Our strategy is therefore one of non-violent, disruptive civil disobedience – a rebellion. 

Historical evidence shows that we need the involvement of 3.5% of the population to succeed – in the UK that’s about 2 million people.

Our Strategy
At the core of Extinction Rebellion’s philosophy is nonviolent civil disobedience. We promote civil disobedience and rebellion because we think it is necessary- we are asking people to find their courage and to collectively do what is necessary to bring about change.

We aren’t focussed on traditional systems like petitions or writing to our MPs and more likely to take risks (e.g. arrest / jail time). We don’t want or need everyone to get arrested – for some this is not a good idea – but we do want everyone involved to support civil disobedience as a tool.

We are promoting mass “above the ground” civil disobedience – in full public view. This means economic disruption to shake the current political system and civil disruption to raise awareness. We are deeply sorry for any inconvenience that this causes.

View the XR website

Extinction Rebellion Highlands and Islands - contacts

Inverness: xrinverness@protonmail.com
Fort William: xrfortwilliam@gmail.com
Gairloch: xrscottishhighlandsandislands@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/XRHighlandsAndIslands/
https://twitter.com/XRHighlands

Extinction Rebellion on Trial

In the London Review of Books blog on 16 January, Lorna Scott Fox writes about the trials of Extinction Rebellion protesters arrested durring the April and October demonstrations in London, which have received little publicity.

"Since last September, Monday to Friday, City of London Magistrates’ Court has been filled by Extinction Rebellion defendants from around the country. XR court supporters are on hand with vegan snacks, hugs and advice, within limits. We’re not legally trained but we’re learning, recording arguments and outcomes, watching for patterns. It’s gumming up the system: the trials, single or in batches, may occupy all three courtrooms all day. At the end, the district judge typically commends the defendants for their high-minded unselfishness (a pleasant change, one said, from the usual lot), expresses personal sympathy with their concerns – and finds them guilty as charged."
.   .   .   .   .
"Does anyone really think that stopping traffic for the sake of a future should be a crime?"

Read the full article

-------------------------

January 2020

UK Climate assembly meets in Birmingham

The calling of a Citizens' Assembly as a means of putting pressure on the government to take serious action on climate change has been one of the key demands of Extinction Rebellion since its formation in 2018.

Last November six parliamentary committees started the process of setting up the UK Climate assembly, which met for the first time last weekend (25 January) in Birmingham.  Surprisingly, its establishment does not seem to be mentioned on the XR website.

Grren Party MP Caroline Lucas expressed disappointment that the remit of the Assembly is limited to recommending how the government should achieve its target of net zero emissions by 2050, whereas both the Greens and Labour argue for an earlier deadline of 2030.

From The Guardian  27 January 2020    Jessica Murray

"People travelled from all over the country for the first meeting of the UK climate assembly on Saturday. Over four weekends they will discuss a range of issues with experts and decide on a set of recommendations for how the government can reach its target of net-zero emissions by 2050.
.   .   .   .   .
"Invitations to the assembly were sent out to 30,000 households chosen at random, and of the over 1,500 people who responded asking to be considered, 110 were selected by a computer to be representative of society. There’s a mix of ages, genders, ethnic backgrounds and education levels, but also a range of views about the climate crisis.
 .   .   .   .   .
"The assembly heard from speakers at organisations including Natural England, the New Economics Foundation and Wellcome, and were given the chance to ask questions."

Read the full article