06/09/2021
Channel Four News has reported that the ecological campaign group Extinction Rebellion have kicked off a fortnight of direct actions over climate change with a protest and sit down demonstration in London's Oxford Street. The group has made clear that it welcomes all sections of society and has a rainbow network to specifically raise the issues of climate change as they impact on LGBTQIA communities globally. Extinction Rebellion says: LGBTQ+ people – particularly migrants, disabled people, trans folk and people of colour – are facing disaster on multiple fronts: austerity is killing us off in vast numbers; hate crimes against us have risen exponentially since the 2008 financial crises and more recently, the EU referendum; homelessness is rising, with 24% of homeless youth identifying as LGBTQ+; and the migrants who seek refuge here from discrimination in their home countries are frequently sent back to their deaths on air-polluting chartered flights by the Home Office – the same Home Office who have the gall to use our flag on their Twitter avatar during Pride month. As climate breakdown and the ecological crisis accelerates, we believe it is the same marginalised and minoritised communities who will be hit first and worst”. The group concludes “We refuse to let that happen.”