Eco activists plotted to cause chaos at the climate conference in Glasgow on 1 November by using road-blocking tactics following Greta Thunberg's phrase in an interview with BBC about the need to "p*** people off" to protect the environment, the Daily Mail reported.
This comes as representatives of 200 nations have been gathering in Glasgow to hammer out an agreement on limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. On the opening day of COP26, delegates and the media could be seen queuing outside the Scottish Event Campus.
Masses of people queue as they arrive for the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Monday, Nov. 1, 2021.
© AP Photo / Anna Johnson
The first protests took place already earlier in the day when a group of Oxfam activists demonstrated at Royal Exchange Square. They were wearing "big heads" of world leaders dressed in kilts and were holding bagpipes. Those represented were Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden, Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China's President Xi Jinping.
Oxfam activists dressed as a Scottish pipe band and representing (L-R) Russian President Vladimir Putin, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, French President Emmanuel Macron, US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose during their "Big Heads" protest stunt at the Royal Exchange Square in Glasgow on November 1, 2021 on the sidelines of the COP26 UN Climate Summit.
© OLI SCARFF
Among protesters, there were also members of the PETA animal rights movement.
A protester from PETA gatecrashes a protest of the Oxfam 'Big Head' caricatures featuring US President Joe Biden protesting on the fringes of the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Monday, Nov. 1, 2021.
© AP Photo / Scott Heppell
A climate rally is also expected to take place during the summit in Glasgow and it could reportedly bring together more than 150,000 people.
Security in Glasgow will be beefed up for nearly three weeks while the conference is ongoing, with an average of 10,000 officers from Police Scotland and forces around Britain expected to be on duty daily.
This comes after 18-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg appeared on the Andrew Marr Show on the BBC earlier this week. When asked if "blocking roads" during protests was justified, Thunberg said that "as long as nobody gets hurt" sometimes it is necessary to anger some people. "...the school strike movement would never have become so big if there wasn't friction, if some people didn't get p***** off," she said.