Activists color the Grand Canal in Venice

A few months ago, climate activists dyed the water in the Trevi Fountain in Italy to promote their cause. Now it's happening to another tourist magnet that also carries a lot more water. Some tourists will be able to sail across one of Venice's main green waterways.

Environmental activists from the group Extinction Rebellion have poured dye into the Grand Canal in Venice and several Italian rivers to protest against the "failure" of the ongoing international climate negotiations. The activists poured a green fluorescent liquid into the Grand Canal. At the same time, they unfurled a banner hanging from ropes and straps from the Rialto Bridge with the slogan "COP28: While the government talks, we hang by a thread".

The group Extinction Rebellion Italy announced via X that they had used a "harmless" dye. "The climate crisis is already having a catastrophic impact on Italy, science is telling us that it will get worse and politicians are wasting their time with a farce," the activists said about the UN Climate Change Conference currently taking place in Dubai. "We are revolting against this inaction, we cannot remain silent while our future is being sold to the fossil fuel industries!"

Green spots in the Tiber and Po too

Similar actions took place in the Tiber in Rome, in a canal in Milan and in the Po in Turin, according to pictures published online. In May, environmental activists had already painted the basin of the famous Trevi Fountain in Rome black following devastating floods in north-eastern Italy, which they said were a "warning" in the face of climate change.

The 28th World Climate Change Conference is currently taking place in the United Arab Emirates. The conference is currently debating a global move away from fossil fuels such as oil and gas. COP 28 is scheduled to last until Tuesday.