Extinction Rebellion hold a 'die-in' in Castle Quay NNL-190105-093135001

The climate change action group Extinction Rebellion (XR) held a global ‘die-in’ at locations around the world to achieve radical change in order to reduce the risk of human extinction and ecological collapse.

The group was most recently in London where it held a series of protests at some of the capital’s most famous landmarks, including a ‘die-in’ at the Natural History Museum.

Around 30 members of the Banbury chapter of the XR group met at the Mill Arts Centre around 11.30am for a briefing on the day’s events.

Extinction Rebellion Banbury Group prepare for a 'die-in' at Castle Quay

Protestors had their faces painted like skeletons and dressed all in black in preparation for a slow, peaceful march through Castle Quay by two groups who would converge on the space outside H&M and lie on the floor, holding placards, in a dead like state for ten minutes.

One of the protestors, Jenny said: “From Banbury XR quite a few of us spent a few days in London during international rebellion week and we wanted to capitalise on all the publicity and do something in Banbury while it was fresh in people’s minds.

“We’re taking part in the international mass die-in which is happening in towns and cities all over the world at 12.05pm local time.”

Jenny added: “The idea for the time is on the Doomsday clock. According to that everything ends at 12 o’clock so at five past we will all be extinct.”

Although the London protests had brought parts of the capital to a standstill and had resulted in over 300 arrests the die-in on Saturday was to raise awareness of catastrophic ecological events happening in the world.

Jenny said: “We’ve got some placards with facts about extinction on and some people to give out leaflets to explain what we’re doing.

“Hopefully people will understand.

“We’re really not about ruining people’s day.”

Extinction Rebellion was formed in September last year and the Banbury XR group has only been going since the Christmas but has already attracted a core group of around 40 members and over 200 Facebook followers worried about the Earth’s ecological direction.

One of the people responsible for setting up the Banbury XR group, Rob, feels the group as a whole is having an impact.

He said: “I was talking to someone who knew I had been in London and he said he had a conversation with his in-laws that he had never had before. They came and started talking about climate change and their lifestyles.”

Limiting the dependance of single-use plastic is one measure that has gained worldwide traction but there are other simple measures individuals can take.

Rod said: “Individually one of the things talked about is avoiding red meat. Farming has a huge impact on CO2 emissions.

“So that has been voiced as a really important thing we can do is think about our diet.

“Some environmentalists say that is the biggest thing we can do as individuals.”