So what comes next for Extinction Rebellion?

11 days later — After 11 days of protest, Extinction Rebellion have ended their action in London. Writer and activist Ben Smoke assesses how effective they were.

Today, 11 days after it began, Extinction Rebellion (XR)’s first stage of action on climate change came to an end. The group, launched last November, began their ‘international rebellion’ last Monday at London’s Marble arch. In the following days, over 1,000 people were arrested in actions that saw key parts of the city targeted, including Waterloo Bridge, Oxford Circus and Canary Wharf.

The actions had three key aims: to get the government to tell the truth on climate change, to bring greenhouse net emissions to zero by 2025, and to create a citizen’s assembly on ecological and climate justice. In the run up to the launch, much of the rhetoric around the use of mass arrests prompted concern from activists across the movement – myself included.

As the dust settles, now is the time to take stock – to look at what the movement achieved, whether the concerns of people like me were founded, and where XR can go next.

Extinction Rebellion are the largest set of climate protest and actions in the UK in a decade. At one point, camps and occupations were in place at Parliament Square, Marble Arch, Oxford Circus and Waterloo Bridge (each represent a key point in the city’s overly congested travel network). The reclamation of a space normally reserved for polluting vehicles was undoubtedly one of the most valuable material elements of the action. Instead of the usual cloud of exhaust fumes, there were trees, plants and space for workshops on Waterloo bridge, and a set of solar panels at Marble arch. It’s one thing to imagine what the busiest parts of our city could be like without cars, but to see it in action was something else altogether.

The XR occupations gave us the opportunity to radically reimagine what our cities could look and feel like if we weren’t beholden to vehicles, and that was just the beginning.

Since the infamous pink boat moved into place in Oxford circus, XR hasn’t been far from the front pages. In doing so, it placed climate change at the heart of the conversation in a way that it has rarely been up until now. Actions at the Shell building, Canary Wharf and the London Stock Exchange centred that conversation on the biggest offenders in greenhouse emissions.

Earlier this week, Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, who started a climate strike outside the Swedish Parliament last summer, spoke in Westminster, calling out MP’s for their ‘irresponsible’ lack of action on climate change and Britain’s ‘creative’ accounting where carbon emissions were concerned. In the aftermath, environment secretary Michael Gove admitted that much more must be done, and agreed to meet with XR activists.

It is without argument, that there has been an effectiveness to XR’s relentless tactics – the bringing of a government minister to the negotiating table being a testament to that – but underneath this sheen of (potentially) superficial success, there are still big questions to be answered.

In the week and a half since actions started, there have been a number of controversies involving XR comms and activists, particularly surrounding interactions with the metropolitan police.

On Wednesday last week, XR tweeted a video of an activist talking about having a chat with the police whilst in custody – something which protest law experts repeatedly warn against. Elsewhere, a video emerged of XR activists saying ‘we love you’ to hordes of the police as they marched into a throng of protestors on Waterloo Bridge. More worryingly, reports of XR activists calling the police on two young people of colour surfaced. The two were accused of pickpocketing, and once searched by the police – who found nothing – were then subjected to immigration checks.

Incidents like this in their isolation are, at best, unfortunate, and can be put down to the inherent messiness of a rapidly expanding movement: one that jumped from hundreds to thousands of activists in a matter of hours. The worry, however, is that they belay something more troubling underneath.

In the last 30 years there have been 1705 deaths in police custody. Most of those have been people of colour. The environmental movement has, historically, been incredibly white, with a lack of diversity being one of the key accusations levelled at XR. At a time when black people are 4.3 per cent more likely to be stopped and searched by the police than white people – and BAME people make up 25 per cent of the prison population, despite representing just 14 per cent of the population – the messages of cooperation and geniality with the police strike a deaf tone.

The infiltration of environmental groups by undercover officers – particularly those who formed sexual relationships with activists, have left scars on the movement – and rightly so. That lessons around the lengths the state will go to to quell environmental activism appear to be easily forgotten or ignored, which is a bitter pill for many to swallow.

As arrested activists move from custody to courtroom, questions remain about XR’s tactics and capacity to support those facing charges, as three activist remain held on remand. Behind closed doors, those involved in the legal cases have called it ‘chaos’.

The reality, though, is that XR has been wildly more successful than any of us could have ever dared to dream. That there are issues is perhaps indicative of this. Will Mccallum, ocean lead at Greenpeace wrote on Twitter: ‘Is this what social movements are like? messy, emotional, inspiring..’ – and perhaps he’s right. For those of sitting on the sidelines, still unsure, perhaps it is time to engage. To empower and embolden the movement with our shared wisdom, to learn from the energy, the ideas and the excitement of those involved; to work together to make a more perfect movement, and a better world.

Follow Ben Smoke on Twitter.

Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.


Ad

Latest on Huck

Red shop frontage with "Open Out" branding and appointment-only signage.
Activism

Meet the trans-led hairdressers providing London with gender-affirming trims

Open Out — Since being founded in 2011, the Hoxton salon has become a crucial space the city’s LGBTQ+ community. Hannah Bentley caught up with co-founder Greygory Vass to hear about its growth, breaking down barbering binaries, and the recent Supreme Court ruling.

Written by: Hannah Bentley

Cyclists racing past Palestinian flag, yellow barriers, and spectators.
Sport

Gazan amputees secure Para-Cycling World Championships qualification

Gaza Sunbirds — Alaa al-Dali and Mohamed Asfour earned Palestine’s first-ever top-20 finish at the Para-Cycling World Cup in Belgium over the weekend.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Crowded festival site with tents, stalls and an illuminated red double-decker bus. Groups of people, including children, milling about on the muddy ground.
© Alan Tash Lodge
Music

New documentary revisits the radical history of UK free rave culture

Free Party: A Folk History — Directed by Aaron Trinder, it features first-hand stories from key crews including DiY, Spiral Tribe, Bedlam and Circus Warp, with public streaming available from May 30.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Weathered wooden building with a tall spire, person on horseback in foreground.
Culture

Rahim Fortune’s dreamlike vision of the Black American South

Reflections — In the Texas native’s debut solo show, he weaves familial history and documentary photography to challenge the region’s visual tropes.

Written by: Miss Rosen

A collage depicting a giant flup for mankind, with an image of the Earth surrounded by planets and people in sci-fi costumes.
Culture

Why Katy Perry’s space flight was one giant flop for mankind

Galactic girlbossing — In a widely-panned, 11-minute trip to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere, the ‘Women’s World’ singer joined an all-female space crew in an expensive vanity advert for Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Newsletter columnist Emma Garland explains its apocalypse indicating signs.

Written by: Emma Garland

Three orange book covers with the title "Foreign Fruit" against a dark background.
Culture

Katie Goh: “I want people to engage with the politics of oranges”

Foreign Fruit — In her new book, the Edinburgh-based writer traces her personal history through the citrus fruit’s global spread, from a village in China to Californian groves. Angela Hui caught up with her to find out more.

Written by: Katie Goh

Huck is supported by our readers, subscribers and Club Huck members. It is also made possible by sponsorship from:

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.