Global InformationExtinction Rebellion information
 | |
| Named after | Anthropocene extinction |
|---|---|
| Formation | 31 October 2018 |
| Founders | Gail Bradbrook Roger Hallam Simon Bramwell[1] Stuart Basden Clare Farrell[2] Robin Boardman-Pattinson[3] 4 others[4] |
| Founded at | Stroud, United Kingdom |
| Type | Advocacy group |
| Purpose | Climate change mitigation Nature conservation Environmental protection Sortition[5][6][7] |
Region | International |
| Fields | Conservation movement Environmental movement |
| Affiliations | Rising Up![8] Animal Rebellion[9] XR Youth |
| Website | rebellion |
Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a UK-founded global environmental movement,[10][11] with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk of social and ecological collapse.[8][12][13] Extinction Rebellion was established in Stroud in May 2018 by Gail Bradbrook,[14][15][16] Simon Bramwell,[1] Roger Hallam, Stuart Basden, along with six other co-founders from the campaign group Rising Up![14][17]
Its first major action was to occupy the London Greenpeace offices on 17 October 2018,[18] which was followed by the public launch at the "Declaration of Rebellion" on 31 October 2018 outside the UK Parliament.[14][19] Earlier that month, about one hundred academics signed a call to action in their support.[20] In November 2018, five bridges across the River Thames in London were blockaded as a protest.[21] In April 2019, Extinction Rebellion occupied five prominent sites in central London: Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Circus, Marble Arch, Waterloo Bridge, and the area around Parliament Square. In August 2021, the Impossible Rebellion targeted London.
Citing inspiration from grassroots movements such as Occupy, the suffragettes,[21] and the civil rights movement,[21] Extinction Rebellion aims to instill a sense of urgency for preventing further "climate breakdown",[21][22] as well as the ongoing sixth mass extinction.[23] A number of activists in the movement accept arrest and imprisonment,[24] similar to the mass arrest tactics of the Committee of 100 in 1961. The movement uses a stylised, circled hourglass, known as the extinction symbol, to serve as a warning that time is rapidly running out for many species.[25][26]
Extinction Rebellion has been criticised as alienating potential supporters.[27][28] Extinction Rebellion's 2019 protests cost the Metropolitan Police an extra £7.5 million. Activists identifying with the movement have also defended causing property damage, such as smashing windows.[29][30] Extinction Rebellion has said such tactics are sometimes necessary and that they are careful not to put anyone at risk.[31] In a YouGov poll of 3,482 British adults conducted on 15 October 2019, 54% "strongly opposed" or "somewhat opposed" Extinction Rebellion's actions of disrupting roads and public transport to "shut down London" in order to bring attention to their cause, while 36% "strongly supported" or "somewhat supported" these actions.[32][33]
- ^ a b Gaffney, Adrienne (2020-04-16). "The Wild, Ambitious, Madcap Environmental Activism of Extinction Rebellion". ELLE. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
Extinction Rebellion began in April 2018 when a diverse group of about 15 activists met at Gail Bradbrook's house in the Cotswolds. Bradbrook, a molecular biophysicist who'd been a part of antifracking protests and the Occupy movement, was joined by others accustomed to making splashy statements for the cause. There was her former partner Simon Bramwell, who spent several weeks in a tree in Bristol to fight a proposed bus path back in 2015 (he was unsuccessful), and Roger Hallam, an organic farmer who staged a hunger strike in 2017 to get King's College London to divest from fossil fuel companies (the school eventually agreed).
- ^ "Clare Farrell (UK)". The Resource Alliance.
- ^ "EXTINCTION REBELLION: Robin Boardman in conversation with Micah White on the History, Strategy and Theory of XR". Activist School. 2019-04-05.
- ^ "Extinction Rebellion FAQ".
- ^ "Citizens' Assembly - Extinction Rebellion".
- ^ "If democracy looks doomed, Extinction Rebellion may have an answer".
- ^ "Citizens' assemblies are helping to fight the climate crisis".
- ^ a b Matthew Taylor (2018-10-26). "'We have a duty to act': hundreds ready to go to jail over climate crisis". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2019-12-29. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
- ^ Taylor, Matthew (2019-08-16). "Animal Rebellion activists to blockade UK's biggest meat market". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2020-06-30. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
redalertwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Corbett, Jessica (2019-10-08). "Extinction Rebellion movement kicks off two weeks of civil disobedience around the world". Salon. Archived from the original on 2020-03-26. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
- ^ "A Declaration of International Non-Violent Rebellion Against the World's Governments for Criminal Inaction on the Ecological Crisis" (PDF). Extinction Rebellion. April 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-11-28. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
- ^ "Our Demands". rebellion.earth. Archived from the original on 2020-03-27. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
- ^ a b c "Extinction Rebellion FAQ".
- ^ Dans, Enrique. "If You Haven't Heard Of Extinction Rebellion Yet, You Soon Will ..." Forbes. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
- ^ Green, Matthew (2019-04-11). "Extinction Rebellion: inside the new climate resistance". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
- ^ "Extinction Rebellion campaigners arrested in London". Green World. 2018-11-19. Archived from the original on 2019-10-11. Retrieved 2018-11-24.
- ^ "Opinion | Climate Activists Occupy Greenpeace UK Headquarters—Wait, That Can't Be Right". Common Dreams. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
- ^ "The evolution of Extinction Rebellion". the Guardian. 2020-08-04. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
- ^ Alison Green; et al. (2018-10-26). "Facts about our ecological crisis are incontrovertible. We must take action". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2020-02-16. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
- ^ a b c d Matthew Taylor and Damien Gayle (2018-11-17). "Dozens arrested after climate protest blocks five London bridges". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2020-05-03. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
- ^ Farand, Chloe (2018-11-23). "Extinction Rebellion eyes global campaign". The Ecologist. Archived from the original on 2019-10-11. Retrieved 2018-11-23.
- ^ "Arrests as Extinction Rebellion protests begin". BBC News – UK. 2019-10-07. Archived from the original on 2019-12-07. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
- ^ Rinvolucri, Bruno; Lamborn, Katie (2018-11-22). "'We can't get arrested quick enough': life inside Extinction Rebellion – video". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2019-10-11. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
- ^ "Extinction Symbol". Extinction symbol information. Archived from the original on 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
- ^ Rose, Steve (2019-04-16). "How the symbol for extinction became this generation's peace sign". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2019-12-29. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
- ^ Church, Sophie (2022-04-05). "Dear climate activists, stop alienating the public or you might lose the battle". The Independent. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
- ^ Ingle, Julian; Dias, Duarte (2019-04-18). "Extinction Rebellion protesters are alienating workers who may otherwise support them". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
- ^ "Extinction Rebellion activists smash windows at Canary Wharf HSBC". BBC News. 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
- ^ "Extinction Rebellion: Jury acquits protesters despite judge's direction". BBC News. 2021-04-23. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
- ^ "'This is an act of care' - Extinction Rebellion women break windows at HSBC Canary Wharf HQ in latest action to highlight the financing of climate breakdown". Extinction Rebellion UK. 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
- ^ "What is Extinction Rebellion and what does it want?". BBC News. 2021-08-23. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
- ^ "Daily Question: 15 October 2019". yougov.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-08-23.