LONDON - After a pandemic hiatus, more than a thousand mask-wearing Extinction Rebellion climate activists marched back onto London's streets Tuesday, calling for swifter action to halt global warming as a huge contingent of police looked on.
With Britain's Parliament returning to work this week after a summer recess, protesters blocked the square in front of the building and called for legislators to take up a proposed climate and ecological emergency bill.
It aims to expand Britain's pledge to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 to cover so-far excluded sectors such as international shipping and air travel, and for actions toward the goal to be faster and determined by a citizens' assembly.
"The important thing is having the government admit they're too slow. Right now they're not taking responsibility," said Reece Evans, 24, an Extinction Rebellion activist and actor who held a placard reading, "Back the Bill.”
Extinction Rebellion climate activists sit in the road and meditate in front of a line of police officers outside of Parliament during a "peaceful disruption" of British Parliament in London, Sept. 1, 2020.
Holly Cullen-Davies said she wanted Parliament "to take climate change to the top of the agenda", while her two young children drew with colored chalks on the pavement.
Cullen-Davies said she had joined the grassroots movement in March, as the coronavirus lockdown began and planet-warming emissions temporarily crashed with economies on hold worldwide, showing how rapidly change could happen.
"I thought if the world can stop for COVID, it can stop for climate change," she said.
Many activists said they thought the return to street protests, despite the ongoing pandemic, was justified because of fast-growing climate risks and because the movement was taking sufficient precautions to prevent spread of the virus.
Nearly all of the activists at Parliament Square in London on Tuesday wore face masks, while simultaneous demonstrations in Cardiff and Manchester were planned to allow protesters to take part closer to home, organizers said.
An Extinction Rebellion climate activist holds a placard during a "peaceful disruption" of British Parliament, in Manchester, England, Sept. 1, 2020.
"COVID is likely to go on another couple of years and we don't have that much time," said Angie Nicholas, a child psychiatrist in green medical scrubs.
"We're super-aware of COVID – but climate and ecological threats are an emergency too," she added.
Chris Newman, a doctor and spokesman for Doctors for Extinction Rebellion, said the situation was comparable to a medic handling a patient with two serious problems.
"You can't just address one problem," he said in a speech to the crowd in Parliament Square, with many listeners waving colored flags with Extinction Rebellion's hourglass symbol or carrying homemade placards.
Rows of police in yellow vests flanked the protest, and more than 70 police vans were parked nearby in a show of force as Extinction Rebellion - which last year blocked major roads and bridges, causing widespread disruption - resumed its actions.
Police said 90 climate activists had been arrested in London as protesters blocked streets in violation of a police order.
Police officers detain a priest protesting during a "peaceful disruption" of British Parliament, at Parliament Square in London, Sept. 1, 2020.
"The reason we have implemented these conditions is that we know these protests may result in serious disruption to local businesses, commuters and our communities and residents, which I will not tolerate," Metropolitan Police commander Jane Connors said in a statement Monday.
But an Extinction Rebellion spokeswoman said the police had rowed back on restrictions that initially appeared to ban protests anywhere in the city except at Parliament Square, after lawyers for the group filed a letter saying it would dispute them.
'Frustrating'
Activists said they were glad to be back on the streets after months of waiting for conditions to be safe enough.
"It's wonderful to feel the energy again and try to hold the government to account," said Grace Onions, 52, who took part in the group's large-scale protests in 2019.
Increasingly clear evidence of climate-related disasters, from floods to droughts, made it urgent to keep up pressure on governments, she added.
Marion Phillips, 73, said she was disappointed the UK government was giving stimulus funds to spark a coronavirus recovery without requiring recipients such as airlines to cut emissions, in line with its net-zero goal.
"It's been very frustrating these few months," she said.
Tuesday's protests were the start of 10 days of action around Britain, organizers said.
"I don't know if it will be effective, but if we're not doing this, then we're guaranteed to lose," said Nathan Nuckhir, 27, a furloughed jobs coach for people with disabilities on his first "nonessential" outing since the lockdown.
"There are fewer of us, but it doesn't change what we have to do," he said. "I hope as a world we'll get hold of this virus and more people can come out to join."