Govt Forms ‘Climate Assembly UK’ After Pressure from Eco-Extremist Group Extinction Rebellion

TOPSHOT - Extinction Rebellion climate change activists in red costume attend a mass "die
TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images
Victoria Friedman

The government has bowed to pressure from Extinction Rebellion and will form a ‘climate change citizens’ assembly’ to advise on how to cut carbon emissions.

The government will send invitations at random to 30,000 people from across the country, but only 110 who reply will be selected to sit at the Climate Assembly UK summits in Birmingham. The invitations are due to arrive on Britons’ doormats on Wednesday.

Backed by a cross-party group of MPs, the plan was agreed by six major government committees to find out how the electorate wants to deal with alleged man-made climate change. The assembly will advise on how to reduce UK carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050 — a target former Prime Minister Theresa May committed the country to in June.

The government launched the citizens’ assembly before the dissolution of parliament so that the next leadership can review its findings in the new term. The meetings will happen on four weekends between late January and early March, and topics will include household energy use and transport.

Climate Assembly UK will cost £520,000, according to The Guardian, with taxpayers footing £120,000 of the bill while the rest will be covered by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the European Climate Foundation.

Rachel Reeves MP, chairman of the Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee, said in comments reported by The Telegraph: “Adopting the net-zero target was a major milestone for the UK, reflecting the strong cross-party support for action on climate change.

“We now need to set out a clear roadmap for the actions to achieve net-zero. It’s very clear that we will all need to play a part in meeting this target and that we all share a responsibility to future generations to do so. Finding solutions which are equitable and have public support will be crucial. Parliament needs to work with the people and with the Government to address the challenge of climate change.

“The Climate Assembly UK will advise Parliament on how people want us to meet the net-zero target, and suggest policies that the Government can implement to secure success.”

A citizens’ assembly is one of the demands of eco-extremist group Extinction Rebellion, which has intermittently been bringing London to a standstill through mass protests since April.

The group said that its “third demand” is that the government “must create and be led by the decisions of a citizens’ assembly on climate and ecological justice”.

The government has already caved to one of the group’s other demands by declaring a “climate and ecological emergency” in May.

Despite surrendering to key demands of the eco-extremist group, it appears that the government’s pledges are not enough. While the government has committed to the 2050 target for net-zero UK carbon emissions, an Extinction Rebellion spokeswoman said that goal must be hit by 2025 — just over five years away.

Linda Doyle told the BBC on Saturday: “Waiting 30 years to reach zero net carbon emissions is a death sentence to people around the world and in the UK — it gives us a higher chance of breaching irreversible tipping points as the climate breaks down and it only serves short term ‘business as usual’.”

Extinction Rebellion grew to notoriety for its London protests which affected the capital’s transport systems, inconveniencing millions of people who work in the city, sometimes preventing them from returning home.

Activists protested in the streets, blocking traffic and glueing themselves to vehicles — even trains, long-held to be an environmentally-friendly transport option.

In October, London’s Metropolitan police chief Cressida Dick revealed that the months of protest had cost the taxpayer £37 million to police. Media reports claim that the far-left eco-alarmist group had paid protesters up to £400 a week to disrupt London.

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