THE IRISH branch of Extinction Rebellion have gathered in Dublin city in protest against a fossil fuel industry conference.
The environmental activists had announced planned to throw fake blood on the road outside the Clayton Hotel on Burlingford Road—Dublin city’s largest hotel conference venue.
The hotel is currently playing host to the Atlantic Ireland Conference and Exhibition, which itself is hosted by the Petroleum Study Group as part of the Petroleum Infrastructure Programme which is funded by a myriad of oil companies.
Now climate activists have gathered outside the hotel in a sinister demonstration against Exxon and other industries, performing a ‘die-in’, pouring fake blood and holding placards urging people to “Act like it’s a climate emergency”.
Climate change activists pour fake blood and burn a model of the globe outside a conference at a Dublin hotel #ExtinctionRebellion pic.twitter.com/PAAMkIXG5E
— Sharon Gaffney (@Sharon_Gaffney) October 30, 2019
Extinction Rebellion Ireland live-streamed the event for several minutes, which you can view below.
The aims of the protesters are to put pressure on the Irish government and remind them of their commitments to the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015, as well as their own promises after having declared a ‘climate emergency’ in May of this year.
Yesterday, October 29, several members of the group sat outside the Atlantic Ireland conference with placards and banners, blocking the entrance to the venue.
🚨Happening Now 🚨
Rebels are blocking the entrance to the Atlantic Ireland 2019 Conference.
The conference promotes oil and gas exploration in Irish waters🔥We need to keep it in the ground 💚🌍#ExtinctionRebellion pic.twitter.com/TSYlPhaYiT— Extinction Rebellion Ireland (@ExtinctRebelsIE) October 29, 2019
Today they planned to take it one step further as they announced a “visual demo” outside the hotel, telling their followers “We need you there”.
.@ExtinctRebelsIE are outside the Burlington Clayton Hotel in Dublin to protest against the Atlantic Ireland conference and Exhibition which is held inside the hotel by the Irish Shelf Petroleum Study Group. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/zBJFDrLTZU
— Adam Daly (@AdamDaly__) October 30, 2019
In their announcement of the visual demonstration, Extinction Rebellion Ireland said:
“Fossil fuels have already done unimaginable damage to the world.
“Their impact on the climate and the dangers they pose to our entire species has been known for decades.
“ExxonMobil invested huge amounts of money in research with the explicit aim of creating uncertainty about climate change. They are a sponsor of this event and we cannot let them get away with this.
“At present there is clear consensus in the scientific community that the BARE minimum we need to do is end the extraction fossil fuels. Yet those at the Atlantic Ireland conference include prospectors seeking to explore for more oil and gas in Ireland.
“This is quite simply THE WORST THING that we could be doing right now.
@ExtinctionR i mbun agóide os comhair Óstán Clayton anois - iad ag iarraidh ar an @Dept_CCAE stop a cur le #shannonlng pic.twitter.com/WOJsxn0gY4
— Raidió na Life (@raidionalife) October 30, 2019
