Climate activists vow to take to streets to stop fossil fuel extraction

Hundreds of thousands of young climate activists have said they will continue “protesting in the streets in huge numbers” against fossil fuels, a day after Greta Thunberg was removed by German police from a condemned village atop a massive coal deposit.

In a cease-and-desist letter to the CEOs of fossil fuel companies, youth campaigners accuse them of a “direct violation of our human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, your duties of care, as well as the rights of Indigenous people”.

“This cease-and-desist notice is to demand that you immediately stop opening any new oil, gas or coal extraction sites, and stop blocking the clean energy transition we all so urgently need,” the letter says.

Already signed by more than 650,000 people, the letter goes on: “Big Oil knew for decades that fossil fuels cause catastrophic climate change, misled the public about climate science and risks, [and] deceived politicians with disinformation sowing doubt and causing delay.”