Climate activists glue themselves to British government building

Members of "Doctors for Extinction Rebellion" group take part in a protest at British government building, in London, Britain September 25, 2019. Doctors for Extinction Rebellion/Handout via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT

LONDON (Reuters) - Environment activists glued themselves to a British government building on Wednesday, warning that public health was being endangered by climate and ecological breakdown.

Extinction Rebellion wants non-violent civil disobedience to force governments to cut carbon emissions and avert a climate crisis it says will bring starvation and social collapse.

"Climate and ecological breakdown poses one of the greatest threats to public health the world has ever faced," said Chris Newman, a doctor who glued himself to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Members of "Doctors for Extinction Rebellion" group take part in a protest at British government building, in London, Britain September 25, 2019. Doctors for Extinction Rebellion/Handout via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT

"Non-violent peaceful protests like today are essential public health interventions for getting the government to take immediate action," Newman said.

Extinction Rebellion activists disrupted London with 11 days of protests in April that it cast as the biggest act of civil disobedience in recent British history. Iconic locations were blocked, the Shell petroleum building defaced, trains stopped and Goldman Sachs targeted.

A member of "Doctors for Extinction Rebellion" group takes part in a protest at British government building, in London, Britain September 25, 2019. Doctors for Extinction Rebellion/Handout via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Stephen Addison)

Members of "Doctors for Extinction Rebellion" group take part in a protest at British government building, in London, Britain September 25, 2019. Doctors for Extinction Rebellion/Handout via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT