A large banner has appeared on a prominent market square building, stating ‘Capitalism is Crisis. Climate Justice Now.’ Overnight unknown artists redecorated the large 800 years anniversary banner outside Kings College, allowing Darwin to articulate concern about climate change. The caption ‘800 transforming tomorrow’ was changed to ‘CO2 transforming tomorrow’, while Darwin added ‘climate change = extinction.’

Meanwhile, outraged local residents have today blockaded both Cambridge branches of RBS. While now 85% owned by the British public, RBS invests heavily in polluting industries; until recently branding itself as ‘the oil and gas bank’.(1) RBS funding has made possible expensive and massively environmentally damaging projects such as the Canadian tar sands in Alberta.(2) These protests come as thousands of people take to the streets in Copenhagen, demanding climate justice.(3)

Martina Taylor, one of the protesters, said; “Our leaders in Copenhagen are trying to solve climate change through the same market based solutions that created the problem, and allowed banks like RBS to make massive profits at the expense of human and environmental welfare. Carbon trading and offsetting just don’t work.”(4)

The protesters call for a transition to a low carbon economy: “system change, not climate change!”