Extinction Rebellion activists and dozens of other environmental groups have vowed to “step up campaigns in new and inventive ways” unless the government agrees to enter talks on two new demands.

During a joint news conference today, Extinction Rebellion, Global Justice Now, Don’t Pay UK and PCS Union issued two “ultimatums”.

They want ministers to end all licences, funding and approval for new fossil fuel projects and to create “emergency citizens assemblies” to tackle the climate crisis.

Their longstanding call on the government to end new fossil fuel licenses, for instance in the North Sea, has so far gone unanswered.

The campaigners said they are bringing together over 200 organisations, including Greenpeace, as well as further community groups for a mass gathering in London this weekend.

“We must unite to survive,” said Marijin van der Geer from Extinction Rebellion.

The activists said the four days of protest, from Friday to Monday, “are not intended for public disruption”.

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But they said 28,000 people had signed up online so far, which could impact things like travel, with the London Marathon taking place on Sunday.

If the government does not respond to their demands by 5pm Monday 24th April, they said they would have “no choice” but to call on all those attending over the weekend to step up their protests.

The escalated protests would take three forms, they said, which include joining picket lines “in solidarity” with strikers and organising locally.

They also threatened “to disobey”, keeping any further details on how they would do this under wraps. But they said “new and inventive” ways of protest would be relative for each person.

It follows a string of high-profile event disruptions by environmental campaigners.

In just the last week the Grand National was disrupted by Animal Rising activists, protesting the “gamble” with horses’ lives, and a Just Stop Oil campaigner covered a snooker table with orange dye at the world championships.

At the start of the year Extinction Rebellion announced they would change their tactics to “prioritise attendance over arrest and relationships over roadblocks”, shifting away from disruptive tactics such as gluing themselves to trains.

In the meantime they have redirected the target of their protests from ordinary people to the “pillars of power” like the courts and the government, they said, following feedback their tactics were putting people off.

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