The Corner

Energy & Environment

The Price Tag of London’s ‘Extinction’ Climate Protest

Police officers search a man protesting regarding climate change outside the Houses of Parliament in London, England, October 17, 2019. (Tom Nicholson/Reuters)

The so-called “Extinction Rebellion” protests — about which NR’s John Fund has written a first-person account — are international demonstrations organized by environmentalists hoping to secure radical changes in climate policy.

London has been particularly hobbled by the protests: Activists in the English city have climbed atop trains, blocked traffic, and glued themselves to buildings, bringing the city to a standstill as police remove protesters who block the organs of public transit. Commuters, many late to their jobs on account of the protesters, were furious with the delays, as Fund reported, occasionally seeking to displace the protesters themselves without consulting law enforcement. Vigilante justice, sure, but justice nevertheless.

The Evening Standard reports that London spent roughly £21 million on policing to quell Extinction’s “Autumn Rebellion.” Perhaps that money could have gone toward environmental causes if the protesters didn’t insist on being such impetuous brats.

Maybe — a cynical thought, I know — being impetuous brats is the point.

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