Hong Kong’s new Extinction Rebellion chapter looks to turn up the heat on the government over climate change
- ‘We are here to sound the fire alarm,’ says founder of group calling for net emissions of zero within six years
- But veteran environmentalists caution against unrealistic targets and alienating the public
A small yet passionate arm of the global climate-protection movement Extinction Rebellion has taken root in Hong Kong, calling on the government to reduce net carbon emissions to zero by 2025.
The group, currently comprising about 40 expats and locals, said they were planning a sustained campaign of peaceful protests and demonstrations across the city.
“We are here to sound the fire alarm. This is a climate emergency. The government needs to act now,” said Olivier Delalande, a founding member of the movement’s Hong Kong chapter.
Extinction Rebellion made global headlines a fortnight ago by occupying vast swathes of central London, paralysing public transport and even threatening to shut down Heathrow Airport in a bid to force the British government to declare a climate emergency.
The global movement echoes other climate campaigns like the Fridays for Future student strikes inspired by Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg and the Green New Deal called for by the US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
A French national who came to the city to work in a bank 10 years ago, Delalande was inspired by the movements abroad to launch the environmental pressure group a month ago.