Over 1,000 scientists across 25 different countries have staged protests following the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s new report which warned that rapid and deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions are necessary by 2025 to avoid catastrophic climate effects.
The group which organized the protests, Scientist Rebellion, has written in a letter that current actions and plans are grossly inadequate and that obligations are not being met.
In a statement, the organization, which was founded in 2020 by Ph.D. students in Scotland, who were inspired partly by the Extinction Rebellion, said that their protests ‘highlight the urgency and injustice of the climate and ecological crisis.
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The Extinction Rebellion is said to be a movement using non-violent direct action and civil disobedience to persuade governments to act justly on the Climate and Ecological Emergency.
This is not the first time Scientist Rebellion members are leading a protest, seeking better attention to climate change-related challenges. They have led protests at COP26 in Glasgow, at universities across the U.K. and in front of the Royal Society. Last year, the organization leaked a draft of the IPCC report.
Recall that In Los Angeles, scientists including Peter Kalmus, a NASA climate scientist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, chained themselves to the JP Morgan Chase building.
“We’ve been trying to warn you guys for so many decades,” Kalmus says, his voice shaking. “The scientists of the world have been being ignored. And it’s gotta stop. We’re going to lose everything.”
Last week, during their protests, Scientists demanded rapid action to address climate change from their governments. In Washington, D.C. Scientist Rebellion protesters chained themselves to the White House fence.
This is as Spanish scientists threw fake blood over the facade of the National Congress. Panamanian scientists staged demonstrations at various embassies, and German protesters glued themselves to a bridge. In Malawi, scientists held a teach-in at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, per the Scientist Rebellion statement.
Amwanika Sharon, a Scientist Rebellion member protesting oil exploration and refinery construction in Uganda, said to Common Dreams’ Jessica Corbett, “Listen to the scientists,”. “Hear the voices of activists. Climate justice now.”
Story was adapted from Smithsonian Magazine.
