‘We need to rebel’: climate change needs radical response, says XR activist ahead of COP27
- Extinction Rebellion (XR) co-founder Gail Bradbrook says bold action, inspiration and acting together is needed to deal with climate change
- ‘You can’t leave it to indigenous people dying on the front lines. And you can’t leave it to activists. We all have to participate’
Soup on Vincent van Gogh paintings, mashed potatoes on a Monet masterpiece: climate activists are taking increasingly daring action to grab headlines, and it is working.
For Extinction Rebellion (XR) co-founder Gail Bradbrook, such bold action is needed to draw attention to the “polycrisis” that threatens to tip the world into climate catastrophe and devastating biodiversity loss.
In the latest eye-catching move, activists from the Last Generation group splashed pea soup on Van Gogh’s glass-covered 1888 painting “The Sower” in Rome on Friday.
While the Extinction Rebellion was not behind the recent art protests, the movement has inspired climate action across the world.
Bradbrook said that when people act together, they can make a real difference.
The scientist spoke to Agence France-Presse ahead of the 27th round of United Nations climate negotiations opening on Sunday, branded by Greta Thunberg as “greenwashing” amid concerns that campaigners will be blocked from attending.