Two arrests

Macabre: climate activists smear Darwin’s grave

(Bild: APA/AFP/Just Stop Oil/JAMIE LOWE)

Several important figures are buried in London's Westminster Abbey, including the natural scientist Charles Darwin. Now his gravestone has become the site of a protest by climate activists.

Two female climate activists from "Just Stop Oil" spray-painted Darwin's gravestone on Monday. Both were arrested after their action.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Just Stop Oil/JAMIE LOWE)

The activists wrote "1.5 is dead" in orange paint on the surface of the white marble gravestone - an allusion to the goal agreed at the World Climate Conference in Paris to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees if possible. Last year was the warmest since measurements began, criticized "Just Stop Oil".

Darwin would be turning in his grave at the news, the group criticized, referring to the extinction of species, among other things. The activists are calling for fossil fuels to be phased out by 2030.

Several well-known personalities are buried in Westminster Abbey, where King Charles III was crowned. These include the British scientist Darwin (1809-1882), whose work "On the Origin of Species" is regarded as a decisive foundation stone for modern-day evolutionary biology.

Restorers do not expect any permanent damage
The protest group said they used chalk paint. The restorers will begin cleaning immediately and do not expect any permanent damage, according to the church's press office. 

According to a report, 2024 was the first year since measurements began that was on average over 1.5 degrees warmer worldwide than the pre-industrial average. It was also the warmest year ever measured, as the EU Copernicus program's climate change service announced on Friday.