Two women have been taken into custody after climate activists spray-painted over Charles Darwin’s grave inside Westminster Abbey. The group responsible, Just Stop Oil (JSO), said that the activists used spray chalk paint to write “1.5 is dead” on the memorial of the renowned naturalist, who is most famous for his groundbreaking work on evolution.
The activists were identified as Alyson Lee, 66, a retired teaching assistant from Derby, and Di Bligh, 77, a former chief executive of Reading Council, from Rode in Somerset. Speaking about the protest, Lee told reporters, “We are trying to get the government to act on climate change. They are not doing enough.”
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Bligh told local media, “We’ve done this because there’s no hope for the world, really. We’ve done it on Darwin’s grave specifically because he would be turning in that grave because of the sixth mass extinction taking place now.”
Lee added, “I believe he would approve because he was a good scientist and he would be following the science, and he would be as upset as us with the government for ignoring the science.”
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that two women had been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage, adding the incident involved “what is believed to be powdered paint at Westminster Abbey.”
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A spokesperson for Westminster Abbey said that there was no anticipated permanent damage. They said, “The abbey’s conservators are taking immediate action to clean the memorial and do not anticipate that there will be any permanent damage. The police were called to the scene and dealt with the incident. The abbey remains open for visiting and worshipping.”
This protest comes after the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) announced that last year was the warmest on record globally. It marked the first calendar year when the average global temperature exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
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The 1.5°C threshold is a central target of the Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, which aims to limit global warming and prevent the most severe consequences of climate change.
(With inputs from agencies)