Boris supports the climate protesters who have crippled London but tells them to head to China

Boris BACKS the climate protesters who have crippled London but tells them to head to China where the real environmental damage is being done

  • Tory says Extinction Rebellion activists right to be worried about planet’s future
  • But says that Britain is cutting C02 emissions while China is more polluting 
  • But said: ‘Surely this is the time for the protesters to take their pink boat to Tiananmen Square, and lecture them in the way they have been lecturing us’

Boris Johnson has refused to condemn climate change protesters who shut down central London but said they should target China not Britain

Boris Johnson today supported the  climate change activists who have paralysed London for a week – but urged them to go to China next.

The Tory MP, who was Mayor of the capital before Sadiq Khan, said that the Extinction Rebellion activists are right to be worried about the future of the planet.

Mr Johnson, who is the bookies’ favourite to replace Theresa May as Tory leader, said in 2013 that he had an ‘open mind’ about the scale of global warming after heavy snow swept across Britain.

But today he said: ‘I cannot find it in my heart — no matter how smug, irritating and disruptive they may be — to condemn these protesters today. They are right to draw attention to the loss of habitat, and the extinction of species. They are also right to sound the alarm about all manner of man-made pollution, including CO2’. 

He added: ‘Surely this is the time for the protesters to take their pink boat to Tiananmen Square, and lecture them in the way they have been lecturing us’. 

He wrote in the Daily Telegraph that he was ‘not in favour of paralysing public transport in the greatest city on earth’ and said the UK was a ‘world leader in reducing the greenhouse gases that are associated with climate change’. 

He wrote: ‘I am not saying for one second that the climate change activists are wrong in their concerns for the planet – and of course there is much more that can be done.

‘But the UK is by no means the prime culprit, and may I respectfully suggest to the Extinction Rebellion crew that next Earth Day they look at China, where CO2 output has not been falling, but rising vertiginously. 

He added: ‘Whether the Chinese will allow them to block the traffic is another matter’.

The protesters who caused a week of havoc in London have said they are willing to ‘pause’ their protests – but only if their demands are met.

Protesters march with skeletons of animals in danger of extinction from Parliament Square to Marble Arch yesterday

Protesters march with skeletons of animals in danger of extinction from Parliament Square to Marble Arch yesterday

Police on Waterloo Bridge surround people who had refused to move off as Extinction Rebellion closed down central London for a week

Police on Waterloo Bridge surround people who had refused to move off as Extinction Rebellion closed down central London for a week

One woman smiles as she is arrested and taken away by police officers attending the demonstrations in Parliament Square, which were illegal

One woman smiles as she is arrested and taken away by police officers attending the demonstrations in Parliament Square, which were illegal

In an audacious attempt to try to control the debate, Extinction Rebellion activists said they want to start a ‘new phase of rebellion’ and enter into political negotiations with MPs who return from their Easter break tomorrow.

TOP WORLDWIDE EMITTERS OF C02

World – 36.914 billion tonnes

1. China – 9.83 billion tonnes

2. US – 5.27 billion tonnes 

3. India – 2.46 billion tonnes

4. Russian Federation – 1.69 billion tonnes

5. Japan – 1.205 billion tonnes 

6. Germany – 799 million tonnes 

7. Iran 672 million tonnes

8. Saudi Arabia 635 million tonnes

9. South Korea 616 million tonnes  

10.  Canada – 573 million tonnes 

17. UK  – 385 million tonnes

Source: globalcarbonatlas.org  

The zealots behind the demonstrations said they wanted to show they are not a ‘rabble’, but an organised group who can bring an end to the chaos ‘when needed’.

They even had the cheek to suggest that their offer to halt the disruption would give them ‘leverage’ over politicians.

Protesters at a rally in Marble Arch last night were told they were ‘making a difference’ by Swedish teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg, 16, who has inspired strikes in schools across the globe.

Extinction Rebellion, who are campaigning for the Government and London mayor Sadiq Khan to declare a climate emergency, have threatened to ‘scale up’ their ‘rebellion’ if the responses from politicians to their demands are not deemed sufficient. 

Protesters have largely been moved to the semi-official protest site at Marble Arch after they were cleared from Oxford Circus and Parliament Square over the weekend. Another site, Waterloo Bridge, had been partly cleared last night.

Police have made 963 arrests in connection with the protests since they started last Monday, resulting in 40 charges. 

The Met has been heavily criticised for failing to clear the blockades, with some officers seen appearing to dance with protesters and ride their skateboards.

Mr Khan appealed for an end to the protests yesterday, saying they were taking a ‘real toll on our city’.

 

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