Photos: Serena Shellenberg, Joao Daniel Pereira, Gareth Morris, Ilya Fisher, Chris Jerrey

The theme for the final day of our actions in Cornwall was ‘All hands on deck’ as the G7 proved to be yet another failed opportunity for change. We are clear that all sections of society must work towards creating a better world that lives in harmony with nature and respects all people.

We returned to St. Ives for a range of creative beach actions and a bit of disruption.

A group of activists declared that the G7 Summit was all mouth and no trousers. Leaders need to stop paying lip service to the climate and ecological emergency. Elly, a psychologist from London said: “I’m baring myself in public, a very silly thing to do, frankly, because there is nothing silly about a world at 2 or 3 degrees of global heating. I work with older adults as a psychologist, and in the UK alone currently for every week that we have a heatwave about thousand excess deaths occur. Higher global temperatures will kill many more of my patients, and I can’t stand by and let this happen.”

As the G7 meeting drew to a close the Big Heads blew giant bubbles representing 30+ years of hot air on climate and then lined up for their alternative summit photo opportunity in front of a sinking G7 logo. Activists stood topless with drowning in promises spelled out across their backs, while discobedience dancers performed and then fell to the wet sand in a mass die in.

A group of activists blocked the exit out of the G7 at Carbis Bay with a van, banners and a samba band. The group said that they were acting because the G7 leaders have not.

A spokesperson said: ”This weekend was a key moment. The G7, leaders of the world’s richest democratic nations have met and yet we’re STILL Drowning in Promises. We asked the leaders of the world to act now and all we’ve had are hollow words. We’re in no better position than before the G7 took place.

”This G7 conference begs the question. Is the outcome of this “event” really worth all the disruption, the carbon footprint and not forgetting the unfathomably large financial cost of all this security?”

On the third and final day of the G7 summit we focussed on the failure of G7 nations to respect the global climate commitments they made in Paris in 2015, and urging the leaders leaving Carbis Bay to act immediately to address the Climate and Ecological Emergency.

Gail Bradbrook, Extinction Rebellion co-founder,said: “These pledges for change are pathetic in the face of the collapse of the natural world- they might have been appropriate 20 years ago but not in 2021. An emergency means an emergency and our leaders aren’t keeping us safe. Tipping points are being breached and billions will die because of this inaction.

”The only thing left for people to rebel against our leaders, to rise up and pull together on the streets to take action ourselves. Because none of us are safe until all of us are safe. We’ve had enough of targets for the future, we need action now.”

Sarah Lunnon from the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill Alliance said: “There remains a gap between the promises G7 leaders have made for emissions reduction and nature conservation and the policies that they have in place to deliver those promises.

“Now is the time for action. We need all hands on deck and we need a cohesive cross party strategy so that people in all sectors of society know what they are working towards; business, civil society, finance and government. The transition is a huge project and it needs everyone to play their part.“

#DrowningInPromises

#allhandsondeck