Greta Thunberg banned from Venice after dyeing Grand Canal green

Greta Thunberg and members of the Extinction Rebellion group were banned from Venice for 48 hours and fined $178 each after dyeing the Grand Canal bright green. This protest was a retaliation after the Italian government’s opposition to ambitious climate measures at the COP30 summit in Brazil.

In a mock funeral procession, adorned in red with veiled faces, the protest coincided with the conclusion of the environmental conference. The regional governor of Venice told The Independent that the protest was “a disrespectful act toward our city, its history, and its fragility.”

The activists claimed they used a dye which is environmentally harmless to criticise the progress of the world’s transition away from fossil fuels.

Venice is especially at risk in terms of the impacts of climate change. For example, Piazza San Marco floods approximately 250 times a year, a figure which has increased due to rising seas and storm surges. Experts warn the city could be submerged by 2100 as a result of the increasing sea levels.

This demonstration was only one in a series of protests at lakes, fountains and waterways over the span of 10 Italian cities

This follows the absence of the United States at the COP30 summit, as well as the European Union’s initial threat to veto an already relatively weak agreement, before signing a deal which has received criticism for its lack of urgency regarding emissions cuts. A ‘road map’ to transition away from the use of fossil fuels will not be found in the agreement, despite over 80 countries advocating for this.

There will be a separate proposal issued by the President of COP30, André Corrêa do Lago, and his team, which will include a fossil fuel transition plan, although this will have less of an impact than if such a deal had been accepted at a United Nations conference.

This demonstration was only one in a series of protests at lakes, fountains and waterways over the span of 10 Italian cities. It has drawn attention to the COP30 conference and its controversy as the summit reaches its conclusion.