Members of a local direct action group snuck banners past security into the B.C. legislature Thursday, dropping them from the second floor rotunda. Messages of protest against Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) unfurled down to the first floor, back-dropping the legislature Christmas tree.

Local organizers with the group Rise and Resist said they were motivated by the October release of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report which outlines the drastic measures needed to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius B次元官网网址� the rate that will substantially reduce the risks and effects of climate change.

The report by the IPCC said meeting the ambitious goal B次元官网网址渨ould require rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society.B次元官网网址�

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The groupB次元官网网址檚 protest specifically targeted LNG CanadaB次元官网网址檚 recently approved Kitimat project, after the BC NDP and Greens announced Wednesday that their new climate plan still allows for LNG CanadaB次元官网网址檚 facility to be built.

B次元官网网址淚t is a huge misconception of what climate action is when the government releases a strategy to reduce emissions while approving emission intensive projects,B次元官网网址� said organizer Hannah Gelderman. B次元官网网址淏.C. is already seeing the effects of climate change in the form of massive forest fires, if LNG Canada goes ahead they will only intensify. We are literally lighting ourselves on fire in order to export fuel to Asia.B次元官网网址�

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Organizers say that any hope for a safe climate hinges on ceasing all fossil fuel expansion immediately.

The group also raised concerns about Indigenous rights, saying Indigenous title holders such as the UnistB次元官网网址檕tB次元官网网址檈n of the WetB次元官网网址檚uwetB次元官网网址檈n Territories have not consented to the construction of the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline that will service the Kitimat terminal.

B次元官网网址淕rassroots activists and Indigenous title holders in fracking country have been fighting LNG for years because of its impact on their lands and waters. WeB次元官网网址檙e here to stand together with them and to say we wonB次元官网网址檛 tolerate fossil fuel expansion, period,B次元官网网址� said organizer Keith Cherry.

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The protesters were quickly spotted by security and escorted out of the legislature, according to Staff Sgt. Ron Huck with Legislative Assembly Protective Services.

B次元官网网址淥ne of the things people need to remember is that the interior public areas of the legislature should be non-partisan and impartial,B次元官网网址� said Huck. B次元官网网址淲e strive to keep it as impartial as possible. Protests make that more difficult.B次元官网网址�

The lawns and the steps of the legislature are often used for protests, with security able to provide support, however Huck said the inside is a place of business where everyone B次元官网网址渟hould have a level playing field.B次元官网网址�

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The group is the same one responsible for the recent sit-in on Johnson Street Bridge that closed the main thoroughfare for two and half hours and ended with the arrest of six protesters.