In the second of two protests today (30/10), Extinction Rebellion (XR) Cambridge members marched from Parker’s Piece through the town centre in striking costumes this afternoon. This follows a failed occupation of NatWest this morning, after activists found that the branch had closed early in anticipation of their demonstration. 

The ‘Red Rebels’ led the procession, clothed in scarlet robes with faces painted red. They were followed by protestors in funerary attire, pushing empty prams and holding banners which declared that the government’s “climate betrayal is killing our children.”

Demonstrators handed out flyers claiming that “the COP process is systematically corrupted by vested interests” and alleging that the summit will result in “catastrophic failure, which the government will cover up by spinning stories of optimism”.

One onlooker described the march as “dystopian”.

COP26 has been called the world’s “last best chance” to fight back against climate change, but it is clear from today’s action that some are more optimistic than others about how effective it will prove.