Nine climate activists are standing as independents in the upcoming European elections in the name of climate and ecological emergency. None of them have stood in an election before, some have been arrested to raise awareness about the climate crisis, and all want to change the political system. Inspired by the Extinction Rebellion (XR) movement and the climate school strikes, the Climate and Ecological Emergency Independents (CEEI) candidates have promised to break from traditional campaign tactics and take direct action, break the law, and engage in grassroots debates to get attention. “It’s absolutely zero to do with being elected and it’s all to do with the campaign,” said Andrew Medhurst, one of the seven candidates running in London, a former banker who worked in the City for more than 30 years before leaving his job to become a full-time activist. Instead, the group of independents that also includes a lawyer-poet, a theatre director, an 80s DJ, an actress, an organic farmer, a global justice campaigner, a teenage student and a “freegan” who lives of foraged and waste food, have one goal: to keep the climate emergency at the top of the media and political agenda.
DeSmog 8th May 2019 read more »