FIVE Just Stop Oil activists from Stroud are among those joining multiple protest marches in London this week.
Stephanie Phoenix-Smith, 35, Alan Mossman, 76, Gill Tavner, 53, Mike Exley, 66, and Adam Beard have called for a halt to all new oil, gas and coal developments in the UK.
The slow marching campaign, now in its 12th week, has already caused havoc on major London roads.
Since the launch of the Just Stop Oil campaign on February 14 last year, there have been more than 2,100 arrests and 138 people have spent time in prison.
The group has recently disrupted high-profile events such as Wimbledon, the second Ashes Test at Lord's and London Pride.
Gill, a former English teacher, said: “Our children’s futures will be dominated by a changing climate whether we like it or not.
"I’m fighting now to secure an era of repair, hope and compassion for my children rather than the alternative of destruction, despair, and conflict.
"I’m doing this for my daughters, Hannah, 18, and Grace, 20.
"My heart aches for them when I think of the future they'll inherit if we don't take immediate and drastic action.”
Mike, a retired father-of-two, said: “I want a safe world for my children and any future grandchildren I may have.
"Marching with Just Stop Oil is an act of desperation.
"I’m here because I’m desperate for things to change while there's still a glimmer of hope left.”
Stephanie, a therapeutic care worker, said: “I do this for my family, for everyone I love, and so the children I care for can have a livable world to grow up in.
“I understand that the disruption we cause is frustrating, and that people are angry. I'm angry too. I don't want to do this, I'd rather be at home, but I won't be a bystander.
“We are people like you, with jobs, families, hopes and dreams.
“There is no planet B – and we’re almost out of time.”
Grandfather Alan Mossman, a construction consultant, said: “My granddaughter is five. I want her to have a life worth living.
“I want both my kids and their partners to have a life worth living too.
“When I was 27, I told my mum that I wasn't going to have kids because of the state of the Cold War.
“In the end I did have kids 17 years later after the Berlin Wall came down and when Thatcher was talking about addressing climate issues.
“Now, the almost inevitability of a slow armageddon is too much to bear. When my granddaughter asks, "Grampy, what have you done to save our planet?" I want to be able to tell her everything I could. Absolutely everything.”
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