Climate campaigners to hold 'funeral for life on earth' in Brighton

Climate campaign Extinction Rebellion said hundreds of its members will hold a funeral for life on earth in Brighton this weekend.
Extinction Rebellion activists in California carried a coffin to call for action on climate change - as Brighton activists will this Sunday (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP/Getty Images)Extinction Rebellion activists in California carried a coffin to call for action on climate change - as Brighton activists will this Sunday (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP/Getty Images)
Extinction Rebellion activists in California carried a coffin to call for action on climate change - as Brighton activists will this Sunday (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP/Getty Images)

Activists said they will 'sound the alarm about the looming threat of human and other species extinction, as a result climate breakdown'.

The protest takes place in central Brighton from 2.30pm to 4pm on Sunday (March 24).

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An Extinction Rebeliion spokesperson said: "The funeral procession will be led by a piper sounding a lament. It will include a celebrant, mourners and a coffin – to symbolise the bleak future for all living things, if urgent collective action is not taken to mitigate the worst effects of the climate crisis. There will be 11 mourners wearing black veils following the coffin, symbolising the 11 years we have left to act on climate catastrophe – according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s landmark report."

The Californian Extinction Rebellion activists in January, 2019. (Photo credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)The Californian Extinction Rebellion activists in January, 2019. (Photo credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
The Californian Extinction Rebellion activists in January, 2019. (Photo credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)

The procession will leave from the corner of Montpelier Road and Western Road. It will proceed along Western Road to the Clock Tower, where the celebrant will give a eulogy and the Brighton Extinction Rebellion choir will sing Arcade Fire’s inspiring song Wake Up.

The gathered mourners are then set share poems and thoughts. The ceremony will end with a 'declaration of rebellion' and the tying of wish ribbons on olive trees.

Calvin Moore of Extinction Rebellion Brighton said: “We are the first generation of human beings to fully grasp the extent of our impacts – and the last generation of human beings with the power to change them. Those of us listening to the scientists can see where we are currently headed: towards our own imminent extinction.

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“Time is running out, but it’s not too late. We have the technology to stop climate change spiralling out of control. The problem is that governments around the world, ours included, lack the political will to act. We demand they treat it as the unprecedented global emergency it is – so this generation can leave behind a world fit for those to come.”

Extinction Rebellion Brighton said it is committed to taking non-violent direct action to force the government to put the climate crisis at the top of its agenda.

To find out more about Extinction Rebellion, visit: /rebellion.earth