There seem to be two strands within the climate movement that lead to new tactics being experimented: the frustration strand and the strategic escalation strand.
On 17 February 2022, a group of twenty people entered the construction site of the Coastal GasLink pipeline in British Columbia, and destroyed machinery and equipment. The controversial pipeline is expected to carry 60 million cubic meters of natural gas daily and passes through land belonging to the Wet’suwet’sen nation. The company reported millions in damage after the action.
In March 2022, activists in the United Kingdom deflated the tyres of 40 SUVs. Connected through the Tyre Extinguishers network, the actions got stronger throughout the year: September saw 600 SUVs targeted in the UK, France and Canada in one night; and by November the group organized a day of action that disarmed 900 SUVs in eight countries. The Tyre Extinguishers underline that if all SUV drivers banded together to form their own country, it would rank as the seventh largest emitter in the world.
In December 2022, around two hundred activists occupied the Lafarge cement factory in Marseilles and “disarmed” the incinerator, electrical devices and cables, as reported by Les Soulèvements de la Terre. They underlined that it is one of the biggest emitters in France.
These are but a few examples of climate groups aiming at sustained and enhanced disruption in their actions. In comparison to the die-ins and marches of 2019, a clear shift is visible. How can we understand this change in the last years?
Continue reading “A year of escalation and experimentation for the climate movement – Sam Albert”