On Sunday, the eco-activist group Generazione Ultima, associated with Italian activists, dyed black the water in the Fountain Trevi in Rome using charcoal.
As all of the advocates have been apprehended, the demonstration, which took place in the middle of the morning, endured for a duration of 15 minutes. The renowned water feature shall undergo the process of being emptied, sanitized, and refilled. There are no signs of it having incurred any harm.
The prompt action taken by the police prevented further harm, as there was a significant possibility of more damage occurring. Additionally, they mentioned in a Facebook post on Sunday that a comprehensive cleaning process will be required, which will require substantial effort and the utilization of public resources. Although the fountain remained undamaged and unstained, Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri expressed his disapproval of the protest.
However, the Trevi Fountain in Italy is once cleaned in a week to avoid any long-lasting costs or damage, which may involve protests and charcoal dye.
Responding to the recent flooding in the Northern region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy, protestors were linking climate change to the deluge that suddenly generated 36-hour rainfall, which killed over a dozen people, exceeding half of the expected annual rainfall. Some scientists have connected these events.
In a press release on Sunday, demonstrators highlighted that the Emilia-Romagna monuments suffered genuine and substantial harm, and unless measures are taken to alleviate climate change, the cultural legacy of Italy as a whole is in jeopardy. Numerous museums in the region were inundated with water and mud, sections of the historic Abbey of Santa Maria del Monte crumbled, and libraries have experienced book losses due to water damage.
The full extent of the damage to the region’s cultural heritage, as well as the economically vital implications for tourism and the massive damage to agriculture infrastructure, is yet to be fully accounted for, as the region attempts to cope with the newly homeless population of 36,000 citizens.
“Our government continues undaunted, giving tens of billions of euros every year to fund the fossil fuel industry. According to a press release published by Ultima Generazione, a nineteen-year-old activist named Mattia stated, ‘The only way to prevent this from happening and stop the emissions related to fossil fuels is through civil disobedience. The horrible tragedy experienced in Emilia Romagna, with increasingly frequent and violent floods and alternating droughts, is a warning of the dark future that awaits humanity.'”
Generazione Letzte and Oil Stop Just, eco-activist groups similar to Generazione Ultima, hope that eliminating subsidies for the fossil fuel industry will put pressure on the government.
Italy recently attempted to weaken the deal at the last moment by pledging 8.4 billion euros ($8.4 billion) of investment in their group among plants and projects, committing the most funds. However, other European countries and the UK, along with Italy, agreed to sign a pledge to end public finance and trade support for overseas fossil fuel projects, as reported by Reuters last year.
The Emergency Climate Fund, founded in 2019 by F. Robert Kennedy’s daughter and investor Neilson Trevor, has distributed and raised approximately $4 million in grants to climate activists in the form of funding to assist with legal expenses. This fund, along with similar organizations such as Oil Stop Just and Generazione Ultima, supports the protest actions of many activists.
How urgent is the need for us to demonstrate drastic actions like this to the public, in order to bring attention to this dire situation? We are proud to support these brave activists who are intervening and shaking us awake. The Climate Emergency Fund acknowledges the severity of the climate emergency and how it is accelerating. Despite our institutions moving forward as usual, the climate emergency is still accelerating and remains a pressing issue. Last week, 14 people died and 23,000 were displaced due to the floods in Northern Italy.