You can’t put a spin on physics – Extinction Rebellion UK Response to Rishi Sunak’s green jobs package.
July 07, 2020 by Extinction Rebellion
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**UK REBELLION 2020 VIDEO**
Rishi Sunak’s green jobs package is a PR job in the face of physical science. It’s like giving a homeless family a dolls’ house and telling them their problems are solved.
Let’s put this £3 billion promised by Sunak into perspective. On Monday £1.7 billion was announced for the cultural sector, a single strand of the economy, £27 billion is being spent on a handful of roads, upwards of £100 billion on HS2 to shave 20 minutes off a single journey, and over £300 billion has been created through quantitative easing to pay for the impact of Covid-19. Last month Germany unveiled plans to spend equivalent of £29bn purely on green measures – a move which was criticised by the German environmental sector for falling short.
We must be clear that this plan will not protect us and it demonstrates that although Rishi Sunak is capable of addressing an immediate crisis, he is unwilling to make the broad reaching, long term changes that are needed for planetary repair. Coronavirus has shown us that this government is willing to delay and cause the unnecessary deaths of tens of thousands of people. The numbers will be far larger if we let them get away with this one.
The situation is bleak right now and we need a coherent policy to transform the economy in the face of the greatest threat we have ever encountered. The need for a Citizen’s Assembly to determine a fair response that protects all our futures is beyond doubt. Until the Government takes this step we will continue to take to the streets.
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Notes to editors
About Extinction Rebellion
Time has almost entirely run out to address the ecological crisis which is upon us, including the 6th mass species extinction, global pollution, and abrupt, runaway climate change. Societal collapse and mass death are seen as inevitable by scientists and other credible voices, with human extinction also a possibility, if rapid action is not taken.
Extinction Rebellion believes it is a citizen’s duty to rebel, using peaceful civil disobedience, when faced with criminal inactivity by their Government.
Extinction Rebellion’s key demands are:
- Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.
- Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
- Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.
What Emergency? | Extinction Rebellion in Numbers |This Is Not A Drill: An Extinction Rebellion Handbook
Get involved
- In the UK, come to one of our events, join the Rebellion Network and let us know how you can help out.
- Start a group where you are: in the UK or around the world.
- Find your local group.
- Check out the International XR website, with links to the French, German, Italian and UK websites.
- And while your time and energy are of most importance, if you are financially able to donate money, see our crowdfunder.
About Rising Up!
Extinction Rebellion emerged from the Rising Up! network, which promotes a fundamental change of our political and economic system to one which maximises well-being and minimises harm. Change needs to be nurtured in a culture of reverence, gratitude and inclusion while the tools of civil disobedience and direct action are used to express our collective power.