Extinction Rebellion
Extinction Rebellion (XR) is a global protest movement focused on raising awareness of climate change through nonviolent civil disobedience. Founded in 2018 by a group of British academics, XR emerged in response to the perceived inadequacy of government actions to address the climate crisis, which they argue poses an existential threat to humanity. The movement's activities often involve large-scale protests that disrupt urban environments to draw media attention and advocate for significant political changes. XR has three main demands: acknowledgment of climate change, the implementation of policies to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2025, and the establishment of citizen assemblies to address environmental issues.
Since its inception, XR has gained traction worldwide, with over 400 affiliated groups in 72 countries and a notable following among younger demographics. However, the movement has faced criticism for its tactics, which some view as radical and potentially alienating to broader support. Critics point out that while XR has succeeded in raising awareness about climate issues, its approach may deter certain segments of the population, particularly from diverse backgrounds. Despite these challenges, XR remains a prominent voice in the climate movement, advocating for urgent, systemic changes to combat environmental degradation.
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Extinction Rebellion
Extinction rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a protest movement in which participants use nonviolent civil disobedience to bring awareness to climate change. Participants in XR believe that Earth is close to a point at which the observable effects of human-made disruptions to the world’s environment cannot be reversed. As a result, they seek to coerce political action through nonviolent mass public displays that deliberately disrupt cities, thereby bringing media attention to their cause. In one of its largest organized global events, XR mounted protests in sixty cities on October 6–19, 2019, which led to the arrests of more than 1,700 people in London alone. Another large protest, titled the Big One, brought out an estimated 60,000 people in April 2023 and brought together people from over 200 organizations.
Because of these protests, XR has been branded by some media outlets and politicians as a radical group whose tactics only serve to alienate potential supporters. In addition, the group has come under criticism from government entities who note that the October protests cost the London police an extra 7.5 billion pounds (the equivalent of $10 million) to monitor. Despite such claims, XR has proven popular among certain segments of society, particularly those in the eighteen to twenty-four-year old age group. A poll of three thousand people conducted by YouGov in April 2019 showed that 47 percent of people in this age group supported XR’s tactics. As of December 2019, XR claimed to have more than 400 affiliated groups in 72 countries, and counted more than 300,000 supporters on its Facebook page despite having only been in existence for one year.
Brief History
XR began in 2018 when a group of 94 British academics from various disciplines signed a joint statement decrying the lack of action by various national governments to safeguard the global environment against climate change. These academics noted that Earth had entered the sixth mass extinction in which nearly one-third of all animal and plant species have become threatened solely because of human activity. The members of the group were particularly concerned about the potential effect of the ongoing climate crisis on human society, describing the future of the human species as bleak. This group laid much of the blame for these issues on the British government, suggesting that by failing to prevent the onset of further climate problems, these officials had failed the citizens who appointed them to lead. As a result, the group announced the creation of XR.
On October 31, 2018, many of the signatories of this statement gathered in London’s Parliament Square to announce the start of an active campaign of nonviolent protest against the British government. Several of the leaders of the new organization, including Roger Hallam, Gail Bradbrook, and Simon Bramwell, had links to Rising Up!, another protest group that sought economic and social solutions to economic and ecological inequalities throughout the world. The group chose as its logo an hourglass centered within a circle symbolizing Earth. The image was intended to evoke the idea that time to make substantive changes to human activity before the planet is irrevocably altered is running out.
As part of its first major action, 6,000 members of XR blocked five key bridges across the Thames River in London in November 2018. After creating a massive traffic jam, group members then planted trees in the city’s Parliament Square. In part because of the high profile of this initial protest, the group’s ranks have swelled worldwide and large protests have occurred in such cities as New York, Berlin, and Sydney.
Overview
XR has three stated demands: to force world governments to acknowledge the realities of climate change; enact binding policies that will both reduce carbon emissions to zero levels by 2025 and reduce unsustainable levels of consumption of Earth’s finite resources; and establish citizen’s assemblies to combat environmental issues and oversee governmental efforts to end climate change. Beyond these specified demands, the group has further highlighted goals to reverse government policies that it views as damaging to the environment while promoting research into new forms of renewable energy.
Although XR was initially founded by a central group of activists and academics, since its establishment, it has subsequently operated as a decentralized group without a dedicated leadership. By using this approach, the group hopes to create a network of associated activists who can plan independent actions at local levels. XR’s founders welcome all likeminded individuals to use the group’s logo and resources as long as they follow the XR’s core ideologies of pro-environmental actions and nonviolent strategies.
Organizers of XR openly acknowledge their goal of social disruption through protest. While group members note that they have vigorously sought to prevent injuries, they have accepted criminal activities such as smashing car windows as a necessary part of protest. A key element of the XR’s strategy is the mass arrest of many of its participants, which organizer Roger Hallam described as being an essential aspect of radical political activism that demonstrates its members’ commitment to change. XR’s founders suggest that they have based their strategies on research of past successful sociological movements. Polls in the United Kingdom (UK) have shown that XR’s tactics have resulted in helping to raise awareness about the growing threat of climate change and measures that would reduce humankind’s carbon impact.
However, many critics—some from within XR—argue that the group’s aggressive tactics threaten to alienate supporters from among both public and political establishments. For example, while the group’s initial protests led to broad media coverage and heightened public support for its core goals, events in late 2019 drew less public support despite more protestors being physically involved in XR events. In addition, the group has struggled to draw members from outside a core group of urban, White young adults. In the group’s London protests in April 2019, 90 percent of those arrested were White. Some critics have suggested that this may be due to minority group’s inherent distrust of the political process. Further, critics have questioned the personal commitment of many XR members, noting that many have demonstrated a willingness to continue to engage in consumerist activities, such as the use of environmentally unfriendly nylon fabric tents and expensive cell phones.
Bibliography
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