Scientist Rebellion blindfolds statues

In various cities around the world, scientists and university professors blindfolded statues to draw attention to the climate crisis. “If our leaders want to merit a statue, they mustn’t turn a blind eye.”

Ten climate activists of Scientist Rebellion blindfolded statues this weekend, including those of Erasmus in Rotterdam, Spinoza in Amsterdam and Rembrandt in Leiden. At least eight statues in the Netherlands were amongst them.

Statue Sunday

The ‘Statue Sunday’ campaign was executed in seven countries. Banners were displayed at the statues, along with images of alarming graphs from the report by the international climate organisation IPCC, which was published last week. The message was that further global warming will change ecosystems irrevocably and will quickly make them uninhabitable.

Change course

That message is not being heeded sufficiently, says Spencer Heijnen, Scientist Rebellion activist and professor of psychology at the University of Amsterdam. “If our world leaders hope to merit a statue of their own one day, they need to make a radical change of course and do whatever is necessary to stop greenhouse gas emissions and the loss of biodiversity. They mustn’t turn a blind eye!”

That’s why the activists opted to blindfold statues, ranging from the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen to Erasmus in Rotterdam. “The most important thing was to choose statues that everyone knows.”

During the weekend Scientist Rebellion also blockaded a terminal at Eindhoven Airport, to protest against the high emissions of private jets. Further campaigns will take place over the next three weeks.