A group of climate activists were arrested Monday morning after they blocked rush hour traffic in Washington, D.C., while demanding President Biden declare a “climate emergency.”
Six members of the climate activist group Declare Emergency were filmed sitting on a city crosswalk, preventing vehicles from moving forward and angering a series of commuters, according to video captured by the group and independent filmmaker Ford Fischer of the independent media outlet News2Share.
The activists held signs that stated “Declare Emergency!” and “No Willow Project,” a reference to an oil drilling project Biden approved in March.
“You guys don’t have to go to work. Some people are possibly going to get fired because of you. What is your plan?” one frustrated commuter said to the protesters.
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“To raise awareness to people like you. To help you get involved,” an activist responded. “Do you care about your kids?”
The protest, which lasted about 25 minutes, ultimately created a massive blockade of vehicles. As the protesters remained steadfast sitting on the ground, drivers continuously honked their horns.
Eventually, several Metropolitan Police Department officers arrived, handcuffed the activists and detained them in a police van.
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“Unfortunately, we need to do this,” one of the protesters said as he was being arrested. “We are only trying to get the attention of President Biden and of the media to raise this issue to the highest degree. It’s dismal how much news is out there about the climate crisis. It is happening around the world right now.”
While Biden has focused much of his presidency on combating climate change, he has yet to formally declare it a national emergency. A climate emergency declaration would enable Biden to bypass Congress and take a number of regulatory steps not normally authorized to the White House.
In July, after reports that the president would issue such a declaration, he opted instead to issue executive orders addressing the “climate crisis,” but he stopped short of an emergency declaration.
“This is an emergency — an emergency — and I will look at it that way,” Biden remarked at an event announcing the actions. “I said last week, I’ll say it again, loud and clear. As president, I’ll use my executive powers to combat climate change, the climate crisis, in the absence of congressional action.”
The president has also been criticized recently for actions such as approving the Willow Project and green-lighting a massive natural gas export project, both of which are located in Alaska.