Extinction Rebellion visual performances and creative action as COP26 continues

Expect to see dancing zombies, a car getting smashed up, and dancers from around the world in Glasgow today, as Extinction Rebellion’s campaign of nonviolent direct action continues.

Creative performances like dances and displays will highlight issues important to communities that are experiencing the worst effects of climate and ecological breakdown, in spite of often contributing the least to carbon emissions and other destructive practises.

Loss and Damage

11am – nearby Premier Inn, Pacific Quay, Glasgow G51 1DZ

A car painted to look like the globe will be smashed with hammers. These striking visuals aim to highlight inequity of loss and damage when it comes to the climate crisis; those who cause most, benefit most while those who cause least bear the losses and irreversible damage. Yet those responsible for climate and environmental chaos refuse to fairly pay for any loss and damage and put more money into fossil fuels and war than climate finance.

Gloria Bulus from Nigeria said “Every day we are experiencing loss and damage as a result of climate-related disasters and yet little time and little attention is given to loss and damage lots of time and lots of energy needs to be given especially during COP. The damage is huge. The loss is on the increase.”

Raouf Ben Mohammed from Tunisia, said “Paying compensation is not enough. They have to pay and they also have to stop. Paying will not give them legitimacy to do it again.”

Northern Drillers = African Killers

1pm – George Square

Members of Extinction Rebellion, alongside affiliated groups, will gather to draw attention to the impact of new fossil fuel investment, continued oil extraction and the effects of the climate crisis on African countries.

Participants will wear placards, with photos and quotes from African activists and there will be minutes of silence to remember all who we have lost to the effects of climate change, murdered activists and the ecology that has been destroyed. The action will also entail ‘discobedience’ in the form of a choreographed dance to Thriller, renamed ‘Driller’, with the zombie dancers representing greedy Fossil Fuel CEOs. A dance will then be played on the screen by creative artists from Democratic Republic of the Congo. The action will also call out the colonial and racist history of buildings around Glasgow.

There will be live speeches from African activists alongside videos played on a screen from activists who could not make it to Glasgow. Speeches will highlight controversial new oil projects in Africa, issues of climate finance and reparations and the lack of inclusivity at the COP26 conference.

Pascal Mirindi, from Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo and XR Universite de Goma, who couldn’t get a visa to come over for the conference, said: “We can’t pretend those in charge will make good decisions that will guarantee our survival if we can’t be there to participate. It is our right and duty to be present in decisions that our future depends on. Fossil fuel industries are the main polluters of the environment and are leading us to the brink of extinction. We have a duty to put pressure on our leaders in Glasgow because only our voice can guarantee the future existence of our children.”

Global Dance

3:30pm – George Square

A dance will be performed, coordinated with groups all around the world, as a way to process global climate catastrophe grief and anxiety.

After 20 years of meetings and no action on the scale that is needed, the dance symbolically speaks with the voice of those who cannot attend COP26 in Glasgow from around the world.

More information is available on the website: https://globaldance4climate.wixsite.com/actionnow/