Just Stop Oil supporters spray paint 15 is dead on Charles Darwins grave

Just Stop Oil (JSO) supporters have spray-painted “1.5 is dead” on Charles Darwin’s grave following confirmation that last year was the first to breach the key global warming threshold.

Two people used chalk paint on the 19th-century biologist’s grave in Westminster Abbey, London, at about 9.30am on Monday, the climate protest group said.

Alyson Lee, 66, a retired teaching assistant from Derby, and Di Bligh, a 77-year-old former chief executive of Reading Council, from Rode, were involved in the action, JSO added.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed two women were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage “with what is believed to be powdered paint at Westminster Abbey”.

A spokesperson for the church said they do not anticipate there will be any permanent damage and its doors remain open for worshippers and visitors.

Police led two women away from Westminster Abbey after the protest.

Ms Lee told the PA news agency: “We are trying to get the Government to act on climate change. They are not doing enough.”

The other activist, Ms Bligh, told PA: “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.”

Ms 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 group shared a video on X, formerly Twitter, of two women wearing white JSO t-shirts kneeling on the floor and spraying orange paint on the grave.

One said: “We’ve already passed through the 1.5 degree that was supposed to keep us safe. Millions are being displaced, California is on fire, and three quarters of all wildlife has disappeared since the 1970s.”

The other points at the slab and said: “This is Darwin’s grave, he would be turning in his grave if he knew that we were in the midst of the sixth great extinction.

“Our Government plans will bring us to 3 degrees of warming, this will destroy everything we love – world leaders must stop burning oil, gas and coal by 2030.”

The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) confirmed on Friday that last year was the warmest on record globally and the first calendar year that the average temperature exceeded 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Pursuing efforts to prevent the world warming more than 1.5C above pre-industrial temperatures is one of the key commitments of the global Paris Treaty which countries agreed to in 2015, in a bid to avert the most dangerous impacts of climate change.

The scientists said human-caused climate change was the primary driver for record temperatures, while other factors such as the Pacific Ocean’s “El Nino” weather phenomenon, which raises global temperatures, also had an effect.

Analysis from the Met Office, University of East Anglia and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science also found 2024 was the hottest on record, and “likely” the first year exceeding 1.5C.

JSO reported that Ms Lee said: “Ten years on from the Paris Agreement, we have already exceeded the so-called safe temperature rise of 1.5 degrees, and are heading for over three degrees of warming.

“This rapidly accelerating crisis means huge parts of the world will become unable to support life, resulting in millions of refugees, social collapse and extinction for countless species.

“Despite lots of fine words from international leaders, emissions are still rising. Without real action, words are useless – you cannot negotiate with the laws of physics.

“We need mass civil disobedience now. Join us on the streets and help us reclaim Parliament this April.”

The group said in a statement: “Today’s action comes as the death toll rises to 24 in California, as fires continue to rip across the state.

“The fires have been driven by climate breakdown after decades of drought, followed by rapid swings between extreme wet and dry conditions in the past two years.

“This has created large areas of ‘tinder dry’ vegetation, creating the perfect conditions for uncontrollable wildfires.”

The Westminster Abbey spokesperson said: “Westminster Abbey can confirm that orange chalk was sprayed by climate activists on Charles Darwin’s gravestone today.

“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.”

Published: 13/01/2025 by Radio NewsHub