Extinction Rebellion

Climate change protest: a single radical gets more media coverage than thousands of marchers

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Yet recently in the UK that statement is being challenged by disruptive environmental protesters unexpectedly gatecrashing live sporting broadcasts.

Key Points: 
  • Yet recently in the UK that statement is being challenged by disruptive environmental protesters unexpectedly gatecrashing live sporting broadcasts.
  • At the end of April, live on ITV the animal rights protesters Animal Rising delayed the country’s biggest horse race, the Grand National, by 15 minutes.
  • From April 21 to 24, Extinction Rebellion (XR) held four days of peaceful protest in central London attracting an estimated 60,000 people.
  • Certainly if the idea was to attract more or better headlines, the results seem underwhelming.

The media was already unsympathetic

    • Even before the Big One had started, right-wing press coverage was already unsympathetic.
    • Plus journalists claimed there was a good chance that the London Marathon would be targeted.
    • The MailOnline ran one positive article but alongside a negative piece warning that coachloads of “grinning eco zealots” planned to closedown London.
    • The Channel 4 reporter’s summation was that The Big One was a cross between a music festival and a village fete.

Disruptive protest attracts attention

    • Across the weekend, the #TheBigOne hashtag was dominated by XR protesters arguing that disruptive protest is reported but non-disruptive is not.
    • Academic research backs this up, showing a clear imbalance in the media coverage of disruptive and non-disruptive protest.
    • My own ongoing research on younger climate activists suggests they won’t be put off as within XR they are able to decide what protest they will and will not participate in.

Extinction Rebellion gave it 'the Big One' with a four-day peaceful protest – now what?

Retrieved on: 
Friday, April 28, 2023

The latest four-day demonstration by environmental protest group Extinction Rebellion (XR) – dubbed “the Big One” as it aimed to be the largest climate protest in UK history – ended without a single arrest.

Key Points: 
  • The latest four-day demonstration by environmental protest group Extinction Rebellion (XR) – dubbed “the Big One” as it aimed to be the largest climate protest in UK history – ended without a single arrest.
  • The movement that began with civil disobedience in 2018 has now declared its preference for “attendance over arrest and relationships over roadblocks”.
  • Four months ago, the group announced a pause on disruptive action that inconvenienced the public, such as road blockades.

The numbers game

    • That puts the Big One on par with the 2019 climate strike as the UK’s joint biggest environmental protests.
    • But the numbers on their own are not what we should focus on.
    • In this case, what can the government no longer do, or only do at increased political cost.
    • The numbers on that march?

What next?

    • This was a cathartic moment that allowed people to express their fear and horror at our civilisation’s tragic trajectory, without necessarily increasing the capacity to act.
    • Unless you keep doubling the numbers, you look weak.
    • One might assume that the recent large protests and marches mean that citizens are newly empowered to speak up.
    • Will XR, as it set out to, change the policy game, or be changed by it?
    • Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue.

Why strike action is climate action

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Other difficulties are more hidden, like the pervasive anxiety of a strike day as emails roll in.

Key Points: 
  • Other difficulties are more hidden, like the pervasive anxiety of a strike day as emails roll in.
  • Not doing the work can leave me feeling that I’m letting down activists and others on the coalface of climate action in order to support narrower concerns around wages, working conditions and pensions.
  • Hallam is mistaken when he pits industrial action over wages against climate action.
  • Climate change is a systemic problem and I argue that strike action goes some way to addressing core systemic drivers of climate change.

A systemic problem

    • When I say that climate change is a systemic problem I am looking beyond the greenhouse gas emissions which are the direct physical drivers of climate change.
    • Production requires taking materials and applying energy to them in order to transform them into the thing that we want.
    • In short, climate change is a problem of global production and consumption systems.
    • Polling from right-wing thinktank the Institute for Economic Affairs found that 75% of British 16 to 34 year olds agreez that climate change is a specifically capitalist problem.

Capitalism prioritises making money

    • The features of capitalism that make it really hard to transition away from fossil fuels also lead to poor working conditions.
    • For instance, one core feature is the prioritisation of making money over all other concerns.
    • In striving to make money capitalism reduces both ecosystems and workers to costs: annoyances that are to be ignored and minimised.

More than money?

    • On the picket line I am asserting that I am more than a cost of production, and more than a generator of income.
    • I do not believe that standing on a picket line can replace tearing down the fossil fuel industry.
    • Strike action is one way to build towards these shifts, and in this way can be a precursor to stronger climate action.

EQS-News: Africa’s Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Egypt: An Opportunity to re-think what we’re asking Africa to do and Respect African Voices - African Energy Chamber

Retrieved on: 
Friday, November 11, 2022

Africas Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Egypt: An Opportunity to re-think what were asking Africa to do and Respect African Voices - African Energy Chamber

Key Points: 
  • Africas Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Egypt: An Opportunity to re-think what were asking Africa to do and Respect African Voices - African Energy Chamber
    The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
  • Africa doesnt need a radical energy transition; Africa needs a just energy transition.
  • Distractions from African Energy Poverty issues at COP27
    Unfortunately, climate panic, smears and fear mongering are alive and well, and for some reason, Africa is public enemy number one.
  • We are proud about the work we do at the African Energy Chamber and our work to Make Energy Poverty History.

"Hothouse Earth" and US Surprise Climate Bill Debunked by NASA Award-winning Scientist's Research says Friends of Science

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 4, 2022

CALGARY, Alberta, Aug. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- As reported by Science Insider on Aug. 1, 2022, the US has embarked on efforts to pass a $369 billion dollar climate plan, but they will be met with Speed Bumps on the Road to Decarbonization, and Hazards Ahead, says Friends of Science Society. The impossibility of attaining most climate and 'transition' goals, especially in the short term, are clearly outlined in these Robert Lyman summary reports of a pragmatic JP Morgan analysis. Proponents claim the surprise bill will meet the ambitious goal of a 40% reduction in emissions, noting that 'more action' is needed to meet the goal of cutting emissions in half by 2030.

Key Points: 
  • The fear of a climate catastrophe due to rising carbon dioxide levels is debunked by the work of Dr. Roy Spencer, NASA award-winning scientist.
  • The van Vliet-Lano research rebutting the 'climate change killer' construct is presented in a plain language video by Friends of Science Society.
  • Now is not the time to embark on wasteful climate change policies based on ideology, says Friends of Science.
  • Friends of Science Society is an independent group of earth, atmospheric and solar scientists, engineers, and citizens that is celebrating its 20th year of offering climate science insights.

DGAP-News: African Energy Week: Help us Fight Back Against the Attack on African Oil and Gas

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, June 21, 2022

The chamber believes that Africans should have the right to explore oil and gas in the same these countries are.

Key Points: 
  • The chamber believes that Africans should have the right to explore oil and gas in the same these countries are.
  • The lawsuit is intended to silence both the AEC and Africa while preventing the development of the continents oil and gas resources.
  • Africa needs it oil and gas and this very narrative is what the Chamber will continue to promote.
  • To join the fight against Hyve Group, AOW and Green Energy Africa Summit focused on silencing an African organization, we ask that you donate here.

Goodwill NYNJ raises $200,000 at 2nd "Evening of Treasures"

Retrieved on: 
Friday, April 29, 2022

NEW YORK, April 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Goodwill Industries® of Greater NY and Northern NJ (Goodwill NYNJ) through its second, and 1st in-person, annual "Evening of Treasures" event raised $200,000 to provide employment and behavioral health services for thousands of people with disabilities and other barriers in the New York City metropolitan region. The event, which celebrates sustainable fashion and the power of work, was hosted by legendary super model Paulina Porizkova, at the Tapestry Building in Hudson Yards in NYC on Thursday, April 28, 2022.

Key Points: 
  • All garments featured in the fashion show, which were upcycled using textiles donated to Goodwill stores, were auctioned to benefit Goodwill services.
  • Revenue from the Goodwill Evening of Treasures, Goodwill stores and ShopGoodwill.com/NYNJ supports Goodwill NYNJ's placement, training, on-the-job coaching, and retention services that support individuals with disabilities and other barriers on their journey to employment.
  • In 2021, Goodwill NYNJ provided employment services for nearly 10,000 people who are unemployed or underemployed, almost half of them people with disabilities.
  • Goodwill gives people the training and resources needed to get jobs and lead independent lives," said Don Huber, chair of the Goodwill NYNJ Board of Directors.

PREPARATION FOR GLOBAL WAVE OF CLIMATE ACTION SUPPORTED PHILANTHROPICALLY BY CLIMATE EMERGENCY FUND

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, April 20, 2022

WASHINGTON, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Climate Emergency Fund (CEF) announced a global wave of nonviolent civil resistance, to capture the world's attention, put relentless pressure on governments and inspire a surge of climate activism around the world.

Key Points: 
  • CEF also announced it received a $250,000 pledge from "Don't Look Up" Director, Academy Award winner and climate activist Adam McKay.
  • The Climate Emergency Fund supports brave, risk-taking organizations that help provide the kind of timely approach that we need to create genuine breakthroughs.
  • For example, CEF was the lead institutional funder of the Climate Emergency Declaration campaign which led to more than 2,000 national and local governments declaring a climate emergency .
  • "It's beyond time to reckon with the reality that traditional channels for climate action have not delivered the results we need.

Extinction Rebellion to address AidEx and Development2030 audience at event in Brussels

Retrieved on: 
Monday, November 1, 2021

Roger is the co-founder of Extinction Rebellion and Insulate Britain, and is well known as one of the most prolific civil society activists of current times.

Key Points: 
  • Roger is the co-founder of Extinction Rebellion and Insulate Britain, and is well known as one of the most prolific civil society activists of current times.
  • Words like "extinction", "rebellion", "crisis" and "breakdown" are now part of everyday conversations when discussing the environmental threat.
  • With AidEx and Development2030 taking place just a week after COP26, the topic is of paramount importance.
  • AidEx and Development2030 are taking place at Brussels Expo, Belgium on November 17-18.

Extinction Rebellion to address AidEx and Development2030 audience at event in Brussels

Retrieved on: 
Monday, November 1, 2021

LONDON and BRUSSELS, Nov. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In anticipation of COP26, tensions are growing across media and in the aid and international development community. With the climate crisis firmly on the global agenda in the countdown to COP26, AidEx and its new sister event, Development2030, are on a mission to address the question - Has the global pandemic distracted us from the much bigger threat of climate change? This is set against the general AidEx conference theme - Global growth in authoritarian and populist government is shrinking the space for civil society – how have the world's most powerful movements countered this trend and what lessons can be learnt?

Key Points: 
  • Roger is the co-founder of Extinction Rebellion and Insulate Britain, and is well known as one of the most prolific civil society activists of current times.
  • Words like "extinction", "rebellion", "crisis" and "breakdown" are now part of everyday conversations when discussing the environmental threat.
  • With AidEx and Development2030 taking place just a week after COP26, the topic is of paramount importance.
  • AidEx and Development2030 are taking place at Brussels Expo, Belgium on November 17-18.