Climate activist Greta Thunberg has been told she is not welcome in Venice after activists dyed the historic Grand Canal green
Greta Thunberg has been banned from Venice after the historic Grand Canal was dyed green.
The harmless green dye was poured into the historic waterway by Greta and Extinction Rebellion activists. They were reacting to Italy’s opposition to including fossil fuel restrictions in a deal agreed to at the United Nations climate summit on Friday in Brazil.
The actions landed the 22 year old campaigner with a 48-hour ban from the city and a ÂŁ131 fine. Another 35 activists, who were mainly from Italy, were handed the same fine and ban. The latest action against Greta comes after she was deported from Isreal for taking part in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla last month.
Protestors from Extinction Rebellion targeted 10 sites around Italy to coincide with the end of the Cop30 United Nations climate conference in BelĂ©m, Brazil. Thunberg attended the group’s Venice demonstration, where activists dumped the dye into the city’s largest channel.
The Extinction Rebellion activists maintained the colouring agent used posed no environmental threat and was intended to symbolise what they described as the “massive effects of climate collapse”. Footage of the green water was shared by Extinction Rebellion to document the nationwide campaign. A banner that read ‘Stop Ecocide’ was hung up at the Rialto Bridge across the Grand Canal.
The campaigners also staged a flash-mob protest in which activists, dressed in red with veils concealing their faces, walked slowly through groups of tourists. Luca Zaia, the governor of Veneto, condemned the stunt as “disrespectful” to “our city, its history, and its fragility’.
“I am even more surprised to see Greta Thunberg among the authors of this useless protest, who clearly aim – more than raising awareness about the environment – to give visibility to themselves,” he blasted.
Extinction Rebellion activists also targeted rivers, canals and fountains in Milan, Genoa, Bologna, Padua, Palermo, Parma, Trieste, Turin and Taranto, to raise awareness about the “massive effects of climate collapse”.
Extinction Rebellion activist Paola, whose surname was not given, said: “The most important global summit to define international political agreements aimed at countering climate and social collapse is drawing to a close, and once again this year, has been among the countries blocking the most ambitious proposals.” Police in Rome foiled an attempt to dye the waters of the lake in the EUR district.
