Extinction Rebellion begin G7 protest as 500 demonstrators gather

Extinction Rebellion begin G7 protest as 500 demonstrators gather to demand action on climate change

• Campaigners paraded from St Ives Leisure Centre to the town centre, escorted by a team of police officers
• Extinction Rebellion say protests in response to G7 nations’ ‘failure to respect climate change commitments’ 
• Those living in St Ives stood outside and filmed the event as protesters played drums and chanted

Extinction Rebellion have started a G7 protest march with 500 demonstrators gathering in a Cornish seaside town to urge world leaders to respect the climate. 

Campaigners paraded from St Ives Leisure Centre to the high street, escorted by police who redirected cars en route, in the first of a series of demonstrations the group is holding throughout the three-day event in nearby Carbis Bay.

Extinction Rebellion says the protests are in response to G7 nations’ ‘failure to respect the global climate commitments they made in Paris in 2015’ and ‘to urge the leaders meeting at Carbis Bay in Cornwall to act immediately to address the climate and ecological emergency’.

Those living in St Ives stood outside and took photographs of the event as protesters played drums and chanted ‘act now’, ‘sound the alarm’ and ‘Extinction Rebellion’.

Some campaigners wore blue gowns and veils and moved through crowd in a flowing motion, which they said represented the threat climate change has on marine life.

Campaigners paraded from St Ives Leisure Centre to the high street, escorted by police who redirected cars en route, in the first of a series of demonstrations the group is holding throughout the three-day event in nearby Carbis Bay

Extinction Rebellion says the protests are in response to G7 nations’ ‘failure to respect the global climate commitments they made in Paris in 2015’

Protesters dressed as blackbirds and put on a display in St Ives as they demonstrated against climate change inaction

Some campaigners wore green gowns and veils and moved through crowd in a flowing motion, which they said represented the threat climate change has on marine life

Activists from the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion demonstrate in St Ives, Cornwall, today

Some demonstrators dressed in green to represent the sea they are trying to save in their protests

Hundreds of people gathered with Extinction Rebellion flags in St Ives to protest against inaction on climate change

They began their protest with a rally at the leisure centre where they gave speeches and sang songs.

Halfway through the route, just before they reached the harbour, they held a few minutes’ silence with their fists in the air.

‘This is exciting, nothing like this ever happens in our little town,’ one resident said. Senara Hodges, 51, said she was ‘delighted’ the campaigners were protesting.

‘It’s absolutely fantastic. They are not causing the disruption – the Government is with its lack of action,’ the filmmaker added. ‘We are severely disrupted by the G7. It’s a huge imposition on a very, very busy town during peak season. It feels like a typical lack of understanding of the impact.’

Olympic sailor Laura Baldwin, 41, joined the protests as a member of Ocean Rebellion – Extinction Rebellion’s sea-focused campaign group.

One hilarious sign in St Ives was in the shape of a pasty and read ‘It’s nearly pasty point of no return’

Protesters gathered in St Ives with signs reading ‘stop’, ‘no more pledges climate action starts now’ and ‘think don’t sink’

Even the animals were forced to get involved with a dog pictured enjoying a quick rest by its owners in St Ives 

A trolley is wheeled uphill as protesters wait for everyone to arrive in St Ives before setting off on a march

People dressed in green hold their hands up as they lead the procession out of the leisure centre in St Ives

One little boy held up a sign that read ‘stop faffing please’ as his family joined the protest on Friday morning

The demonstrators dressed in green made their way through the centre of the crowds in St Ives

Hundreds of people poured into the narrow streets of St Ives to campaign for climate change action

Protesters walked behind a sign reading ‘sound the alarm’ as they walked through St Ives on Friday 

Yellow banners were waved in the air as bemused residents took a moment to record events in St Ives

Protesters took a quick break to grab lunch at Harbour Fish and Chips shop in St Ives

Residents clapped from balconies as they celebrated the protests happening below in St Ives

Up to 500 people are thought to have gathered for the protest in one of the most popular coastal towns

Protesters took over the promenade as well as the beach itself as the march ended in the centre of St Ives

Drummers helped keep the atmosphere upbeat as protesters marched through St Ives on Friday morning

Banners read ‘indigenous emergency’ as drummers banged their instruments and others chanted

‘I’m down here for the duration of the summit. I learnt about the climate emergency in January 2019 and I’ve not been able to focus on anything since,’ she said.

‘I’ve absorbed and understood the dire warnings of the world-leading scientists, academics and David Attenborough. I’m the mother of an eight-year-old son and there’s constant contradictions of their words with their actions. As a result I’m terrified for the future of my child and all our children.

‘I think it’s wonderful to see so many people coming here today in creative ways.’

Ms Baldwin added she was more stressed about the state of the planet than any competition as an Olympian.

Boats can be seen on the beach, left by fisherman, as the march passes them in St Ives

She said: ‘I’m part of Ocean Rebellion because I’m an Olympic sailor and the ocean is where my heart is. I love the water and respect it.’

Nat Squire, 24, an osteopath graduate who lives in Cornwall, said he decided to take part in the protest because the Government was not acting ‘anywhere near as ambitiously as they need to be’.

‘They do a lot of greenwashing. They say they’re going to do something but they don’t have any intention,’ he said.

‘They’re in the pocket of the fossil fuel industry and the billionaires, making it difficult for them to make any changes, even if they wanted to.’

Extinction Rebellion will also hold protests in Falmouth on Saturday, where they will march through the town again. On Sunday there will be an art installation in St Ives.  

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