XR announce a tactical change for 2023 - disruption no longer the primary tactic: 'relationships over roadblocks'

 In a press release this morning Extinction Rebellion announce a move away from disruption as a primary tactic. They say:

When XR burst onto the scene four years ago, few could have imagined the seismic shift it would bring about in the climate movement, the climate conversation, and the world at large. 

But despite the blaring alarm on the climate and ecological emergency ringing loud and clear, very little has changed. Emissions continue to rise and our planet is dying at an accelerated rate. 

The root causes? A financial system prioritising profits over life, a media failing to inform the public and hold power to account, and a reckless government entrenched in corruption and suppressing the right to protest injustice.

As we ring in the new year, we make a controversial resolution to temporarily shift away from public disruption as a primary tactic. We recognise and celebrate the power of disruption to raise the alarm and believe that constantly evolving tactics is a necessary approach. What’s needed now most is to disrupt the abuse of power and imbalance, to bring about a transition to a fair society that works together to end the fossil fuel era. Our politicians, addicted to greed and bloated on profits won’t do it without pressure.

We must be radical in our response to this crisis and determined in our efforts to address the climate and ecological emergency, even if it means taking a different approach than before. In a time when speaking out and taking action are criminalised, building collective power, strengthening in number and thriving through bridge-building is a radical act. XR is committed to including everyone in this work and leaving no one behind, because everyone has a role to play. This year, we prioritise attendance over arrest and relationships over roadblocks, as we stand together and become impossible to ignore.

The conditions for change in the UK have never been more favourable – it’s time to seize the moment. The confluence of multiple crises presents us with a unique opportunity to mobilise and move beyond traditional divides. No one can do this alone, and it’s the responsibility of all of us, not just one group. It may be uncomfortable or difficult, but the strength of all social, environmental, and justice movements lies in working together. As our rights are stripped away and those speaking out and most at risk are silenced, we must find common ground and unite to survive.

It’s no secret that those in power are hoarding wealth and power at the expense of ordinary people, while ignoring the consequences of their greed. Emissions continue to rise, but they couldn’t care less. But people do care, and changes to democracy that free and empower the voices of the people through Citizens Assemblies could balance the tables and bring about the positive societal tipping point we all need.

Choose Your Future – 21st April and beyond – The Big One – Houses of Parliament – 100,000 people. 

Read more here.

Green Left rejects the Green Party’s remain pact with Liberal Democrats

Only a few days ago

Green Left says ‘no’ to supporting Jo Swinson’s second rate Tories. The Liberal Democrats nationally oppose our Green values.

Green Left believes a step forward for the green movement in the UK has taken place recently, with many people joining both the Green Party and Labour Party, reflecting real concerns about the threat of climate change to our very existence on this planet.

Green Left welcomes the fact that the Green New Deal is gaining support on the left, especially in the Labour Party,  and we believe that Greens should engage with others who share the same policies as us, to build the green movement for change which is the only way to save the planet. 

Green Left believes the mass movement of Extinction Rebellion and the Youth Strikes shows up the pro capitalist parties for what they are – gambling with the planet. The Lib Dems are part of the problem not the solution.

The Liberal Democrats are a party whose leader, Jo Swinson, received funding from a major fracking company and voted for fracking. She and her party also voted for the bedroom tax, benefit cuts and the introduction of Universal Credit, the scrapping of the education maintenance, increased tuition fees, opposed increasing the tax rate on those earning £150,000, supported cuts to the police and emergency services, supported zero hours contracts, supported the badger cull and did little to challenge climate change, preferring instead nuclear power.

The Lib Dems are also uncritical supporters of the EU, unlike the Greens who want major democratic reform and accountability. The Lib Dems reject a proper further referendum that allows people a democratic say on any EU deal or no deal.

Green Left believes Caroline Lucas was right to warn how dangerous the Lib Dems position of ignoring the Referendum result, and instead going for Revoke, is  : “I certainly think that the Lib Dem way out is arrogant, self-indulgent, cynical and very dangerous. I think that will put fuel on the fire.” LINK

Green Party policy has been for a second people’s vote, and in this case is closer to that of Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party, who also support a second  referendum, than the Liberal Democrats’ Revoke position.

Green Left is very concerned that the implied call to support Liberal Democrat General Election  candidates where the Green Party is not standing and where the Labour candidate was either the sitting MP or is the best placed candidate to defeat the Tory MP is  an incorrect position to take - especially if that person supports anti-austerity, proportional representation, a Green New Deal and a people’s vote.

Therefore, we urge Green Party members and supporters to support the Labour Party candidate in these areas.

The UniteToRemain pact contradicts the Green Party’s initial position that this should be a Climate Emergency election. Instead the pact makes it a Brexit election.

Editor's note: I am a member of Green Left and was involved in writing this statement which I fully support

Lots of questions to be answered after Extinction Rebellion spoke at Willesden Green Library

I only heard about Saturday's Willesden Library Extinction Rebellion meeting when a friend picked up a leaflet a couple of days ago so it may have been lack of publicity that meant only 20 or so people turned up - not helped by transport issues on a Wembley Event Day of course. Of those only about a quarter were Brent residents.

The climate crisis is a major issue and Extinction Rebellion (XR) have been successful in publicising the climate emergency through actions such as blocking London's bridges. At the same time Greta Thunberg has galvanised school students across the world and there are already 500 separate actions planned for March 15th.  On the other hand our parliamentary representatives were resolutely ungalvanised with only a handful turning up for the House of Commons debate earlier this week. 

I hoped that XR would provide some answers about how to bring about the necessary changes if our planet is to remain inhabitable by humans.

The first part of the meeting set out the issue (see the video) at some length while the second part (not videoed - my battery ran out!) addressed XR's aims and methods. It was the second part where I began to feel disappointed. The evangelical zeal of the speaker did not make up for what seemed sometimes naive assumptions and an ignoring of the political and economic context in which we seek change.

The speaker, Dan Carpenter stressed the peaceful, non-violent, nature of XR's actions and their good 'respectful' relations with the police. He made links with the tactics of  Martin Luther King and the  Black civil rights movement in the US (the police reaction to that was far from peaceful) and Gandhi.  Carpenter set out the tactics as:

Respectful
Disruptive
Sacrificial
Backfire

'Sacrificial' is when you agree to be arrested and 'Backfire' is when the effect of your arrest is to backfire on the establishment. I was concerned that slides of a neat, clean and modern prison cell was shown to indicate that prison wasn't so bad and British policeman were described as nicer than those in other countries. We have to be realistic and recognise that prisoners are sometimes beaten and there are deaths in custody in the UK - and this is particularly true of black people. I would not want young people to have an unrealistic picture of what is involved. Although it was mentioned that a criminal record may impact on the existing employment of participants it was not emphasised enough that for young people still at college or university, it might have an impact on their future employment.

It was clear that XR gave people the chance to make a contribute at different levels and that a willingness to be arrested was only one way of contributing alongside others presenting lesser risks, and that training was also offered in non-violent techniquesand other aspexts of the campaign.

It was when what all this action was meant to achieve was addressedf that I felt a sense of anti-climax. One of the key slogans of the climate movement is 'System Change: not Climate Change'. This indicates that climate change/chaos can only be combatted if the capitalist system with its emphasis on growth and every increasing consumption and exploitation of the planet's resources is changed. This means major social change, redistribution of wealth within and between nations and much more.

These are XR's aims:

1. The Government must tell the truth about the climate and wider ecological emergency, reverse inconsistent policies and work alongside the media to communicate with citizens.
2. The Government must enact legally binding policy measures to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025 and to reduce consumption levels.
3. A national Citizen’s Assembly to oversee the changes, as part of creating a democracy fit for purpose.

I think this, to put it mildly, underestimates the extent to which politicians, industry and multi-nationals will resist giving up on capitalism, and the depth and breadth of the changes needed.  How exactly will the Government reduce consumption levels? How can the media be made to communicate the messages?  Citizen's assemblies, chosen on a jury/lottery type system, have been used to devise referendum questions and have been suggested by Caroline Lucas for this purpose, but to oversee massive societal change and create a new democratic system?  Where does this leave the very notion of government if a Citizen's Assembly 'oversees' the changes? Citizen's assemblies would be made up of individuals rather than political parties.

All these questions bubbled up in me and may, to be fair,have been satisfactorily answered, but no space was given at the event for questions or discussion.

Extinction Rebellion, Willesden Green Library, Saturday March 2nd - Climate Change: Heading for Extinction (and what to do about it)

The planet is in ecological crisis: we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction event this planet has experienced. Scientists believe we may have entered a period of abrupt climate breakdown. This is an emergency.

In this public talk, climate speakers from Extinction Rebellion will share the latest climate science on where our planet is heading, discuss some of the current psychology around climate change, and offer solutions through the study of social movements.

Everyone is welcome and there will be time to ask questions and discuss afterwards. Entry is free.