Greta Thunberg banned from Venice after dyeing canal green

Greta Thunberg has been issued a temporary ban from Venice after she and members of Extinction Rebellion reportedly turned part of the Grand Canal bright green during a climate protest, according to local reports.

The demonstration, held on Monday, was part of a wider Extinction Rebellion campaign across ten Italian cities following the COP30 climate summit in Brazil. Protesters used non-toxic fluorescein dye to colour Venice’s waterways and unfurled a banner reading Stop ecocide from the Rialto Bridge. Participants were dressed in red with veiled faces and performed a mock funeral procession to criticise what they described as the failure of world leaders to commit to strong fossil fuel reduction measures.

Reports said the protesters denounced the limited progress made at COP30, noting that the United States did not attend the summit and that the European Union reluctantly backed a final agreement that many climate advocates considered insufficient.

“We symbolically paint the waters of Italy green to highlight the pollution created daily by industries supported by our own government,” an activist identified as Selene said in a statement released by the group.

Authorities were not pleased with the action. Thunberg and 35 others were reportedly fined roughly $174 each and handed a 48-hour ban from the city, local officials told reporters. Luca Zaia, governor of the Veneto region, criticised the stunt as disrespectful toward Venice and its fragile heritage.

The protest came as Venice continues to face growing threats from climate change. The city has endured increasingly frequent aqua alta high-tide floods, with Piazza San Marco submerged hundreds of times in recent years.