Extinction Rebellion, an environmental group targeting the City of London, announced on Sunday that it would suspend public nuisance actions in the UK and focus on mass demonstrations.
The UK arm of the organization says it wants to bring more people on board to fight climate change and hopes 100,000 will take part in protests in Westminster in April.
Founded in 2018, the grassroots group has previously closed roads and bridges in central London, blockaded an oil refinery, smashed windows at Barclays bank headquarters and sprayed fake blood at the Treasury.
In April Lloyd’s of London, the world’s largest insurance market, was forced to close its headquarters and switch to remote trading after a group of climate activists blocked one of the City’s most famous buildings.
Extinction Rebellion, also known as XR, says it is the first time it has forced financial institutions to close their doors. The group targets banks for financing the fossil fuel industry.
In a statement titled “We quit”, Extinction Rebellion UK said that in four years of direct action, very little had changed, with greenhouse gas emissions continuing to rise.
“When we ring in the new year, we make a controversial resolution to temporarily stay away from public noise as a primary tactic,” he said.
Boris Johnson, the former British prime minister, introduced legislation that would allow sentences of up to 12 months in prison for those who “disrupt key national infrastructure” such as airports or printing presses.
A new public order bill being considered in the House of Lords targets protesters from groups such as Extinction Rebellion. It creates a new criminal offense of “locking in” or “going equipped to lock in”, to prevent people from fixing themselves to the building site or transport system to cause disturbance.
This carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison or an unlimited fine. It would also be illegal to block major transport works such as the High Speed 2 rail link from London to the north of England.
Extinction Rebellion says it plans to surround Parliament House with 100,000 people from April 21.
“This year, we prioritize the arrival of arrests and relationships through roadblocks, because we stand together and it is impossible to ignore,” he said in a statement.
“We must be radical to respond to this crisis and define efforts to overcome the climate and ecological emergency, even if it means taking a different approach than before. At a time when speaking and acting are criminalized, building collective power, strengthening numbers and developing through bridge building is a radical act.
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