CAMPAIGNERS from Extinction Rebellion took to the streets of Oxford in support of a landmark bill of far-reaching climate policies ahead of an important vote by Oxford City Council.

Councillors debated a motion to support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill yesterday.

If passed, the motion would require the authority to support the bill, and campaign for its progress into law.

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Armed with placards and photos of vanishing species like hedgehogs, protestors from the local XR branch took over Cornmarket Street on Saturday morning.

Banners read 'Please look after our natural world, support the CEE Bill'.

Speaking about the importance of the private bill campaigner Mary Gill commented: "The UK environment needs the boost which the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill could provide.

"The Government’s ten-point Climate Plan added just £4bn of new money to its stated policies.

Oxford Mail:

"In view of ample research evidence concerning increases in temperatures and carbon dioxide emissions globally since 2000, with 2020 forecast to be the hottest year ever for the planet, it is clear that more resources are needed to actually cut greenhouse gas emissions far more quickly.

"According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds the UK has failed to reach 17 out of 20 UN biodiversity targets agreed on ten years ago, with the gap between rhetoric and reality resulting in a lost decade for nature."

Ms Gill also pointed out that Oxford City Council has a part to play in ''increasing ambition in its climate and environment-impacting policies'.