Two activists shown with hands glued to the frames of paintings by Francisco Goya at the Prado museum in Madrid, in a picture released by Extinction Rebellion. Photo: AFP/ Supplied - Extinction Rebellion
Activists have glued themselves to Goya paintings in Spain and blocked private jets in Amsterdam, as leaders gather for the COP27 climate change summit.
In Spain climate activists glued their hands to the frames of two world-famous paintings by Spanish master Francisco de Goya's "La Maja Vestida" (The Clothed Maja) and his "La Maja Desnuda" (The Naked Maja), in Madrid's Prado museum on Saturday.
It was the latest in a string of protests targeting artworks across Europe.
A man and a woman attached themselves to the artworks and painted "+1.5 C" on the wall, video footage showed.
Campaign group Futuro Vegetal said its members carried out the protest: "Last week the UN recognised the impossibility of keeping us below the limit of 1.5 Celsius (set in the 2016 Paris climate agreement). We need change now," it wrote on Twitter.
Groups of climate activists have mounted a series of similar protests in recent weeks in the build-up to the COP27 climate change conference at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt today.
Protesters tried to glue themselves to the glass covering Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring" in The Hague and others threw soup onto panels covering Van Gogh's "The Sower" in Rome and one of his Sunflowers paintings in London.
The Prado condemned the use of the museum for political protest, but said its paintings had not been damaged.
Police said two people had been arrested.
In Amsterdam, hundreds of environmental activists wearing white overalls stormed an area holding private jets at Schiphol Airport and stopped aircraft from leaving for hours by sitting in front of their wheels on Saturday.
Military police moved in and were seen taking dozens of the protesters away in buses. More than 100 activists were arrested, national broadcaster NOS reported.
The protest was part of a day of demonstrations in and around the air hub organised by Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion.
"We want fewer flights, more trains and a ban on unnecessary short-haul flights and private jets," Greenpeace Netherlands campaign leader Dewi Zloch said.
The environmental group says Schiphol is the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the Netherlands, emitting 12 billion kilograms annually.
-Reuters
