Extinction Rebellion (XR) Dorchester, Weymouth and Portland are today protesting government inaction on the climate crisis by presenting a letter demanding action on the climate emergency to Richard Drax, MP.
This action is one of 18 actions planned across the southwest alone, with hundreds of rebels participating at MP’s offices all across the UK in a coordinated, unified show of strength and solidarity.
Mr Drax was invited to meet protestors to receive the letter in person but he requested the letter be given to the security gatehouse and he would ensure he received it (1). The letter urges Richard Drax to publicly speak out on the government’s failings on the climate and ecological emergency and come clean with constituents that government inaction will lead to the death of millions. (2).
The protest is timed to coincide with the publication of the Committee on Climate Change annual report to parliament which is expected to show little progress. (3).
The planned action was carried out by a small delegation of XR rebels representing the concerns of hundreds of local members. The demonstration began at 8am at the Stag Gate to the Drax estate. Then on to the MP’s Office in Winfrith Newburgh to deliver the letter in person. Protestors maintained social-distancing and wore face masks in line with government guidelines.
A similar letter was also delivered in person by the protestors to the office of Michael Tomlinson, MP for Mid Dorset and Poole, in Lytchett Mattravers. Letters were also emailed to Chris Loder MP for West Dorset, and Simon Hoare MP for North Dorset.
Extinction Rebellion spokesperson Laura Baldwin said, “The scientific evidence is absolutely clear. Aiming for zero carbon emissions by 2050 is far too late to avert catastrophic global heating which will cause crises much, much worse than Covid19 and its subsequent recession.
The UK government already pledged measures for reducing emissions but in fact they have increased. We have a chance, now, to change direction towards a Green Economy, our government must wake up and do it. Our message to Simon Drax is aimed at empowering. His constituents need a brave and bold leader to protect them and the planet”.
Another demonstrator, Ken Huggins added “I am horrified at the thought this government thinks we have time to address climate breakdown later and will support fossil fuel industries in their recovery plan out of the pandemic. The science says climate breakdown has already begun and any recovery plan must place environmental concerns centre stage if its effects are to be mitigated.”
Extinction Rebellion is urging the government to listen to the latest scientific findings which demonstrate that carbon emissions need to be reduced to zero much faster than the 2050 target to avoid dangerous global temperature rises (4).
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Dear Richard Drax MP,
It’s time to Tell The Truth. We urge you to publicly speak out on the Government’s failings on the Climate and Ecological Emergency. The 2050 net zero target laid out in the Committee on Climate Change’s report is already dangerously late and yet today’s findings show the Government isn’t even sticking to its own dismal targets.
You must make it clear to your constituents that Government inaction will lead to the death of millions.
Government inaction is an existential threat to civilisation. The world is heating and the breakdown of our climate has begun. Extreme weather events are having devastating impacts on agriculture and destroying homes, costing taxpayers billions and leaving millions of people in need of humanitarian aid. Rising temperatures, rising sea levels and droughts will render vast tracts of land uninhabitable through flooding and desertification, putting food supplies at risk. We know that these horrifying changes will disproportionately impact black, Indigenous and people of colour. Society will move into civil unrest and ultimately war, raising the terrifying possibility of societal collapse.
Government inaction is criminal. Today’s report from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) highlights that the government’s actions fall way short of meeting its own legally-binding target to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, a target already woefully inadequate. Last year, The CCC reported that only one of their 25 recommended headline policy actions had been delivered in full.
2050 is already too late. New calculations by academics from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research find that if there is just a 2 in 3 chance of stabilizing warming below the internationally agreed limit of 2C of warming then the total amount of carbon we can emit in the UK is only half that currently budgeted in government policy. If we wanted to honour our commitment to hold temperatures to 1.5C, then the amount we can emit is even smaller still. The science is clear that we must phase out carbon emissions much sooner than 2050 if the UK is to do its fair share.
We are standing at an intersection of crises. All are symptoms of a toxic system dependent on infinite growth, extreme inequality and racial oppression. All are symptoms of a Government which fails to act on the science and fails to do what’s right to protect people and the planet.
We have a very small window of opportunity during the recovery from the current pandemic to make the necessary changes to secure our future. We implore you to show leadership, to act decisively, to listen to expert advice and not let the lessons learned from the current COVID-19 crisis go to waste.
We need you to Tell The Truth by publicly calling out the government’s failings and announce to your constituents that the current 2050 is too late and will lead to the death of millions.
We call on you now to do your duty and take action on behalf of life.
Extinction Rebellion
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About Extinction Rebellion
Time has almost entirely run out to address the ecological crisis which is upon us, including the 6th mass species extinction, global pollution, and abrupt, runaway climate change. Societal collapse and mass death are seen as inevitable by scientists and other credible voices, with human extinction also a possibility, if rapid action is not taken.
Extinction Rebellion believes it is a citizen’s duty to rebel, using peaceful civil disobedience, when faced with criminal inactivity by their Government.
Extinction Rebellion’s key demands are:
- Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.
- Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
- Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.
What Emergency? | Extinction Rebellion in Numbers |This Is Not A Drill: An Extinction Rebellion Handbook
Get involved
- In the UK, come to one of our events, join the Rebellion Network and let us know how you can help out.
- Start a group where you are: in the UK or around the world.
- Find your local group.
- Check out the International XR website, with links to the French, German, Italian and UK websites.
- And while your time and energy are of most importance, if you are financially able to donate money, see our crowdfunder.
About Rising Up!
Extinction Rebellion emerged from the Rising Up! network, which promotes a fundamental change of our political and economic system to one which maximises well-being and minimises harm. Change needs to be nurtured in a culture of reverence, gratitude and inclusion while the tools of civil disobedience and direct action are used to express our collective power.
