XR climate activists start march from three cities to block A12 in The Hague next week

Participants in a climate march set off from Arnhem, Alkmaar, and Almere on Sunday morning, ending six days later in The Hague. The march is an initiative of Extinction Rebellion (XR), in advance of the next blockade of the A12 highway, which the climate activist group has announced for next Saturday. According to XR, the march will be "public-friendly and fully within the law."

For each day, the activists have set a route of about 20 kilometers. The routes will go from station to station, so people who want to join the day's march can do so easily. A similar march already took place in May, but then only from Arnhem.

Starting Saturday, September 9, XR plans to block the A12 in The Hague every day. This part of the road passes the temporary Tweede Kamer and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. According to XR, this is exactly the right place for a protest against the financial benefits that the government grants for the use of fossil fuels. These fuels cause by far the most CO2 emissions and thus contribute significantly to global warming.

However, the blockade was prohibited by Mayor Jan van Zanen on traffic safety grounds. XR has already blocked the A12 seven times. These actions ended with police intervention.

In addition, the court in The Hague also does not consider the highway blockades permissible. In early August, the court sentenced seven people who had called for participation in XR's earlier A12 actions to several community service hours for incitement of the people.