Extinction Rebellion UBC to stage week of climate action beginning Tuesday
Credit to Author: Postmedia News| Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2019 21:18:04 +0000
Extinction Rebellion UBC (XRUBC) will kick off a week of climate action on campus beginning Tuesday to urge the university to divest from fossil fuels and achieve carbon neutrality within the next six years.
The group includes members of the University of B.C.’s students, staff and faculty and will see skits, educational initiatives and “die-ins” taking place each day between noon and 1 p.m. at the Alma Mater Society’s Nest building on the Point Grey campus.
“UBC claims to be at the forefront of sustainable action, yet the university has approximately $120 million invested in fossil fuels,” said XRUBC spokeswoman Daryl-Lee Schalm. “How can UBC be taken seriously as a leading academic institution on sustainability while its wealth contributes to accelerating the climate crisis?”
The week of non-violent action comes in advance of the UBC Board of Governors’ meeting scheduled for Dec. 5, during which the governors will discuss investment strategy. Members of Extinction Rebellion UBC are hoping a divestment plan can be struck by 2020 and that carbon neutrality can be achieved by 2025.
VANCOUVER, B.C.: October 7, 2019 – Climate activists with Extinction Rebellion took over the Burrard Bridge on Monday, Oct. 7, 2019 as part of a non-violent global rebellion in Vancouver, B.C. The #BridgeOut event saw a number of activists occupying Burrard Street Bridge, as a continuation of the thousands-strong climate march that took place in September.
“We have to act now to combat this unethical paradox,” said spokeswoman Laura Sullivan. “Like many other young people, I am working hard and paying tuition for my degree at UBC. I am investing towards my future yet with its investments in fossil fuels, UBC is actively working against any hopes I have of a safe future for myself and future generations on this planet.”
Extinction Rebellion is an international group that stages non-violent actions to protest government inaction on the climate crisis. Most recently, the Vancouver branch of XR staged a snake march through Downtown Vancouver and a shutdown of the Burrard Bridge.
In September, thousands gathered at Vancouver City Hall to march across the Cambie Bridge as part of a student-led climate strike.