Climate activists pour black liquid into Rome's Iconic Trevi Fountain, protesters arrested

In a display of protest against Italy's perceived lack of action on climate change, members of the environmental activist group "Ultima Generazione" poured black liquid into Rome's renowned Trevi Fountain. Approximately 20 minutes into the demonstration, police officers intervened and apprehended the protesters.

As part of the "Let's not pay for fossil" campaign, a total of eight individuals associated with the activist group Ultima Generazione took action by pouring "vegetable charcoal" into the water. Their objective was to advocate for an "immediate stop" to fossil fuel subsidies.

Video footage captured the protesters leaping into the fountain and emptying buckets containing the black substance, followed by displaying anti-fossil fuel signs to the sizeable assembled crowd.

We've been telling the young that civilization will be destroyed soon in a climate catastrophe. And then we wonder when some of them try to hasten civilization's destruction in protest?

Climate activists blacken Rome's Trevi Fountain with charcoal to protest fossil fuels: pic.twitter.com/fooOitkM9Y

— Jake 🇺🇸 (@omni_american)

CBS news reported that according to a press release issued by Ultima Generazione after the protest, the police promptly intervened and detained the climate activists within a 15-minute timeframe from the start of the demonstration. The group stated that the motive behind the event was the growing visibility of climate change impacts, particularly exemplified by the recent destructive floods in Italy's Emilia Romagna region.

Climate group refers to recent Emilia-Romagna floods in Italy

The group highlighted that as a result of the floods, a minimum of 14 individuals lost their lives, while thousands were compelled to evacuate their residences. They further emphasized that on a national scale, approximately 25% of households are vulnerable to flooding, leading to an estimated annual damage cost of around 3 billion euros. These statistics were referenced from a recent study conducted by the Bank of Italy.

One of the protesters, 19-year-old Mattia, said in the release they decided to participate because of that "horrible tragedy."  

"(It's) a warning of the dark future that awaits humanity, made up of drought alternating with increasingly frequent and violent floods," she said. "...The only way to prevent this from happening is to stop emissions related to fossil fuels. Our Government, on the other hand, continues undaunted to give the fossil fuel industry public funding for tens of billions of euros every year." 

The decision to protest was also influenced by the recent announcement from the World Meteorological Organization. The organization stated that there is an increased probability of the planet exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming compared to pre-industrial levels within the next five years. This threshold represents a significant milestone that scientists have long been cautioning about. Once this level of warming becomes a regular occurrence, the world is expected to encounter more frequent and intense heatwaves, droughts, and floods.

Ultima Generazione asserted that no harm was inflicted upon the fountain itself during the protest, nor have they caused damage to previous protest locations. However, they emphasised that the real damage lies in the cultural heritage of the Emilia-Romagna region. They attributed the destruction to the impact of climate change and the recent floods, expressing concern for the preservation of significant cultural assets in the area.