Last year Extinction Rebellion Jersey, which met States Members last week, held demonstrations around St Helier and a bike protest along Victoria Avenue to highlight the number of cars on the Island’s roads. Ahead of next month’s States debate on the carbon-neutral strategy, which could cost up to £600 million, protesters will gather in the Royal Square. And further protest action is planned for later in the year, which will be aimed at Jersey’s finance industry. However details of this action are not yet known.
Eckart Weber, of Extinction Rebellion Jersey, said: ‘Our actions for 2020 are very much in the planning stage and the details need to be thrashed out, but there will be action outside the Assembly on
25 February before the debate on the carbon-neutral strategy.
‘There has been a review with XR in the UK and here. XR in the UK held successful protests in London, and now it is likely there will be less targeting disruption like blocking roads and annoying the public and more of targeting institutions, such as the government and the finance industry.
‘The finance sector should be made part of these conversations on climate change, regarding investments in fossil-fuel companies. Legislation needs to be passed to make the finance sector disclose how they invest money in fossil fuels.
‘We aren’t looking to get rid of the finance sector but they need to be part of the conversation.’
His comments come as the World Economic Forum met this week with politicians and activists talking on the topic, including environmentalist Greta Thunberg, who said there had been a lack of action on climate change. The Jersey strategy, published by Environment Minister John Young, sets out how Jersey will go about trying to become carbon-neutral by 2030.
As part of the carbon-neutral strategy it is proposed that a citizens’ assembly is set up to give members of the public a chance to shape Jersey’s response to the climate change emergency.
Mr Weber added: ‘We are calling for a citizens’ assembly, whose recommendations will be legally binding.
‘A citizens’ assembly of ordinary men and women would be more representative of Jersey than the States Assembly in many ways, considering how low voter turn out is.’
