Climate protest
Gondoliers in the countryside: Extinction Rebellion color the Grand Canal in Venice
Bright green protest: The climate activists from Extinction Rebellion have once again colored the Grand Canal in Venice. With the campaign they want to draw attention to the COP28 climate conference.
© Edoardo Fioretto / EPA
Climate activists from Extinction Rebellion once again showed their colors in Venice and drew attention to the COP28 climate conference with a protest.
It is a spectacular action that climate activists from the protest group Extinction Rebellion are not launching for the first time: the activists have… Venice’s famous Grand Canal colored green. Some of them rappelled down from the Rialto Bridge over the central canal of the northern Italian lagoon city on Saturday afternoon and poured dye into the water, the group said on social media. The water in the canal then shimmered green.
Visitors to the city, which is particularly popular with tourists, noticed that the water in the Grand Canal suddenly glowed green. Three activists from Extinction Rebellion hung above them and displayed a large poster with the words “COP28: While the government talks, we hang by a thread,” as seen in pictures. Onlookers gathered on the Rialto Bridge during the action – occasional gondoliers rowing past could also be seen taking photos with their cell phones.
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According to their own statements, the activists poured fluorescein into the water, a non-toxic substance that is used in tests in sewer networks. With the action they wanted to protest against the “ridiculous progress” made at the world climate conference COP28 in Dubai. “We are tired, we are tired of being played for fools by our governments and knowing that our future is in danger while politicians do nothing,” it said in a statement.
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The protest group also took action in other Italian cities. In Milan, for example, she colored the Naviglio Grande green – the oldest and most famous of the Navigli canals. But the group also took part in actions in Rome, Turin and Bologna.