Two climate activists, associated with the extremely vocal climate activist group Extinction Rebellion were arrested on Sunday after gluing themselves to a Picasso painting at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia.
The protesters – who were arrested and later released without charges being laid – used superglue on Sunday to attach themselves to Picasso’s Massacre in Korea, which was on loan to the gallery as part of its Picasso Century exhibition.
The NGV said in a statement the priceless artwork, which was protected by a perspex glazing, was thankfully not harmed.
Environmentalist movement Extinction Rebellion claimed responsibility for the protest in a video of the incident livestreamed on Facebook.
The video showed two protesters unfurling a flag which read “Climate Chaos = War + Famine”.
“We are in a climate, ecological crisis,” a female protester said with her left hand stuck to the painting.
"'If we continue on our current path, we will face the collapse of everything that gives us our security,' leading to conflict," the group said, quoting naturalist and TV host David Attenborough.
Climate change a very real threat...
Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.
Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures.
Examples of greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change include carbon dioxide and methane. These come from using gasoline for driving a car or coal for heating a building, for example. Clearing land and forests can also release carbon dioxide. Landfills for garbage are a major source of methane emissions. Energy, industry, transport, buildings, agriculture and land use are among the main emitters.
Climate change is on course to transform life on Earth as we know it, and unless global warming is dramatically slowed, billions of people and other species will reach points where they can no longer adapt to the new normal, according to a major UN-backed report released this year.
But all of that being said, it's genuinely hard to see what Extinction Rebellion was trying to achieve here. As one Twitter user noted:
