The activists in Milan will outline their priorities for climate action in a joint communique to be presented to ministers meeting Saturday as part of pre-COP preparations
The activists in Milan will outline their priorities for climate action in a joint communique to be presented to ministers meeting Saturday as part of pre-COP preparations

United Kingdom climate activists halted their five-week-long road-blocking protest in London to Oct. 25, giving Prime Minister Boris Johnson 10 days to begin working on their request to insulate homes.

Members of Insulate Britain sent an open letter to Johnson on Thursday apologizing for the disruption while urging him to insulate “all of Britain’s 29 million leaky homes by 2030, and all social housing by 2025” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“Insulate Britain would like to take this opportunity to profoundly acknowledge the disruption caused over the past five weeks,” the group said in the letter. “We cannot imagine undertaking such acts in normal circumstances. But the dire reality of our situation has to be faced.”

The group has been causing disruption on motorways and busy roads in and around London since Sept. 13, which has led to dozens of arrests. They decided to take a 10-day break to give the government time to consider its demands, a spokesperson for the group told the Guardian.

“We invite you to make a meaningful statement that we can trust...that your government will take the lead needed to insulate and retrofit our homes,” the group said in its letter.

The increased pressure from Insulate Britain comes as world leaders prepare to meet in Glasgow on Oct. 31 for the United Nations Climate Summit known as COP26.

As the day of the summit approaches, environmental groups have been releasing new reports on the climate crisis while some leaders work on new strategies to regain global credibility around climate action.