As Copenhagen refuses entry to NGO’s and delegates from around the world, Climate Camp Trafalgar enter another day of solidarity action. This time, the target….. The London Ice Bear…. He just didn’t see it coming.
The team at Climate Camp Trafalgar square saw another day of actions this wednesday 16th. This time targeting a (corporate, aka M&S, sponsored http://plana.marksandspencer.com/we-are-doing/climate-change/stories/82/) ice sculpture.
The London Ice Bear ( http://www.wwf.org.uk/what_we_do/tackling_climate_change/the_london_ice_bear.cfm) has been attracting the attention of passers by in Trafalgar Square since friday the 11th of December. WWF (who are backing the ice bear) state, on their web page, that “everyone is invited to touch the ice sculpture. Artist Mark Coreth hopes that by touching this sculpture audiences can become sculptors themselves and make a direct connection with the bear and its icy Arctic kingdom, now under threat from man-made climate change.”
Here at Climate Camp, we took this statement rather literally. Though, obviously, we felt the need to direct the focus away from the rather sweeping statement of “man made” climate change and give it a shove towards the more fitting statement of corporate funded climate chaos.
At around 4pm on Wednesday the 15th of december, Campaigners took a banner stating “This isn’t just climate change, this is RBS funded climate chaos” and a kettle full of hot water (also branded with the RBS symbol) to the ice bear and proceeded to melt the bear with the ‘hot water of capitalism’.
Artist and sculptor Mark Coreth was more than please to see his project “interacted” with in this way.
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On Thursday December 17, approximately 50 demonstrators gathered outside the Danish Embassy in Sloane Street, London, to object to the Danish police’s harsh treatment of demonstrators at the COP Summit in Copenhagen.
After a spirited rally, demonstrators occupied the road in front of the embassy before leading a roaming traffic blockade up Sloane Street and onto Brompton Road, before eventually halting outside Harrods department store.
There were no arrests.
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A climate camp to occupy a vital location in Copenhagen was announced. 100 people with 4 pop-up tents gathered in a central square and decided to stay for two hours – full report and photos