ILKLEY Extinction Rebellion Group will welcome a nation-wide bus tour this month to raise awareness of the climate and ecological crisis, and how it connects to the cost-of-living crisis.

The Change if Now bus tour is visiting 60 towns across the UK to hear from local people about their fears relating to the climate and ecological emergency and to offer ways to get involved in the movement to demand action to secure a liveable future.

It will be in Ilkley from around noon on Thursday, September 29 and will be welcomed by local Extinction Rebellion (XR) supporters who will be organising outreach sessions. The outreach sessions will run from noon to 5pm on the Grove and in the centre of Ilkley. They are designed to hear from local people and offer them ways to get involved in the movement to demand action on the climate and ecological crises, and to join with thousands of others taking action in Spring 2023.

XR Ilkley will also be on the Grove supporting the Car Free Festival on Sunday, September 25. This will be a chance for people to find out more about XR and the bus tour. In addition XR Ilkley regularly gathers outside HSBC in Ilkley to encourage people to switch banks and takes part in a monthly Climate Cafe.

Kath Steward, a supporter of the Ilkley XR Group, said: “We can now see clearly how the cost-of-living crisis is a direct result of the climate and ecological crises. This summer the UK suffered temperatures up to 40 degrees, followed by flooding and sewage on our beaches, with a predicted crop failure of up to 50%. Oil and gas companies continue to rake in billions of pounds in profits, and the new government seems set on helping them do it. As ordinary people, we must do something before it’s too late.”

Ilkley is one of over 60 towns and cities in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland that Extinction Rebellion members will be visiting from September 20.

A local XR member, said: “I’m taking part in XR activities as I want my children to grow up healthy. We know that children, including adolescents under the age of 18, are often more vulnerable than the general population to the health impacts of climate change, so we have to take action now.”

For more information contact: XR Ilkley email xrilkley@protonmail.com