Climate activists have launched mass acts of civil disobedience in two cities across the world from each other: Newcastle, Australia, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In Newcastle, more than 1,000 protesters shut down operations at the nation’s largest coal port. A group of “kayaktivists” blocked the entrance to the harbor in what activists called the largest flotilla to date, while dozens blocked the coal transport train line into the port. More than 60 people were arrested. Australian Green Party leader Richard Di Natale spoke out.
Richard Di Natale: “Here we are, on the first day of an election campaign, talking about an issue you won’t hear either of the old parties talk about on any day during this election campaign, and that is how new coal mines, more coal exports are destroying the Great Barrier Reef, how new coal mines are destroying precious wilderness, and how they are holding us back from making the transition to a new 21st century clean economy.”
The protests come as part of an international campaign to “Break Free from Fossil Fuels.” In Philadelphia, meanwhile, hundreds of people rallied outside an oil refinery to protest air pollution and plans by Philadelphia Energy Solutions to expand operations.