As President Donald Trump continues to bow down at the altar of the fossil fuel industry and decimates federal commitments to confront the worsening climate crisis, activist groups in the United Kingdom took to the streets to grieve over losses and organize for renewed action.

Today, Extinction Rebellion Cambridge and other activist groups held a mock funeral for the 1.5°C target that international policymakers agreed to in the 2015 Paris Climate Accord to limit global average temperature rises above pre-industrial levels.

The other groups involved included Extinction Rebellion U.K., Cambridge Greenpeace, Cambridge Stop the War, and the Organisation of Radical Cambridge Activists.

A solemn procession around Cambridge city centre was led by two dozen “Red Rebels” — silent performers dressed in red with their faces painted stark white. The procession, which included a black funeral casket representing the death of the 1.5°C target, passed through the Lion Yard, where a banner reading, “No future on a dead planet,” was lowered from the first floor as the march passed underneath.

In 2015, world leaders gathered at the United Nations Conference of Parties in Paris where they signed the Paris Climate Accord, agreeing to limit global average temperature rises to “well below” 2°C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century, with a target of 1.5 °C. The rallying cry, “1.5 to stay alive!” was regularly repeated by activists during both negotiations and protests inside and outside of the conference, who also demanded the rapid phase-out of fossil fuels. In 2015, temperatures had already risen by 1°C above pre-industrial levels, due to the actions of the fossil fuel industry and the continued use of fossil fuels.

Despite these promises, global average temperatures smashed through the 1.5°C target in 2024 — just a quarter of a way through the century. The breach needs to be sustained for a decade or more for politicians to agree that 1.5°C has been exceeded — but many scientists say that the target has now been missed, with one describing it as “deader than a doornail.”

Trump removed the United States from the Paris Climate Accord upon taking office and has refused to uphold pledged financial commitments to support climate resilience, adaptation, and the transition away from fossil fuels at home or abroad.

The procession in Cambridge marked “the enormity and sadness of this moment,” Alex Martin of Extinction Rebellion Cambridge said in a statement. “We felt we needed a physical space where we could grieve together for what we are losing and reflect on how to respond to the challenge now in front of us.”

While sounding the death knell of the 1.5°C target, participants in today’s funeral procession “pledged to step up where politicians have failed,” seeing the action as “a rallying cry to the public to join the many organizations and groups striving to limit temperature rises and prevent the worst effects of climate collapse,” according to the statement. The groups sought to “highlight that while it can feel overwhelming to act alone, coming together as part of a supportive community can be a powerful force for change.”

“Every fraction of a degree of warming we can prevent will save lives,” said Zoe Flint, a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion Cambridge in a statement: “We call on everyone to do what they can to protect people and planet, while there is still time to prevent the worst harm.”

Extinction Rebellion is a decentralized, international, and nonpartisan movement that uses nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience to persuade governments to act to solve the climate crisis.

In April 2024, 400 “Red Rebels” and hundreds of mourners in black held a Funeral for Nature procession through the historic city streets of Bath, culminating in a dramatic finale in front of the Abbey.