Venice’s Grand Canal dyed fluorescent green by climate activists

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Louise Thomas

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Climate activists dyed Venice’s famous Grand Canal green in protest at what they claimed was a lack of progress at the Cop28 climate summit.

Members of the Italian branch of Extinction Rebellion were pictured dangling from the Rialto Bridge with climbing ropes, with a banner that read: “COP28: While the government talks, we are hanging by a thread.”

All boat traffic was halted during the protest, while other rivers and canals in Italian cities such as the Po in Turin and Rome’s Tiber were also turned green in similar demonstrations.

Venice’s mayor called for the protesters to be punished, denouncing them as “eco-vandals”.

In a statement, Extinction Rebellion said: “In a few hours, these waters will be back to what they were before.

“In the meantime, while governments talk, we count the damage and the victims from constant floods and fires.”

The visual effect was created by a dye that XR said is harmless and used in industry to trace items in water.

The protest is the latest in a number of actions taken by climate activists in Italy this year.

In May, seven members of the group Last Generation climbed into the Trevi Fountain in Rome and poured a vegetable-based charcoal dye into it, turning it black.

Activists have also blocked the busiest motorway leading from the capital, and a number of other roads causing mayhem for motorists.