Extinction Rebellion (XR) - the climate protest group known for its members taking drastic action like smashing windows and gluing themselves to public places during protests - has announced it is shifting away from "disruptive tactics" in 2023. In a statement sent out by the group on December 31, titled "We quit", it said its members would "prioritise attendance over arrest and relationships over roadblocks".
It comes as other environmental protest groups, like Just Stop Oil, stepped up their protesting tactics last year, including throwing tomato soup on Van Gogh's Sunflowers painting and spray-painting buildings with orange paint. Extinction Rebellion's "We Quit" statement read: "When XR burst on to 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.
Read more: Bristol Airport bus blockade in protest over state of bus services in the city
"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." You can read the rest of the statement here.
Following a number of protesters closing motorways and other infrastructure last year, new legal restrictions on protests have since been introduced by the government. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act was introduced in 2022, giving police greater powers to restrict protests that cause disruption and the new public order bill is due to introduce offences of "locking on" and "interfering with key national infrastructure", both of which can see perpetrators being given prison time.
There could also be new “serious disruption prevention orders” targeting protesters “determined to repeatedly inflict disruption on the public”, The Guardian reports.
Extinction Rebellion, which launched in 2018, has become known for the ways in which its protesters carry out protests, including planting trees on Parliament Square, supergluing themselves to the gates of Buckingham Palace, smashing windows at bank headquarters and at News UK, the publisher of the Sun and Times newspapers. Now, the group is calling for 100,000 people to "leave the locks, glue and paint behind" and surround the Houses of Parliament on April 21.
The event, which the group has dubbed 'Choose Your Future' is described as a disruption to "our corrupt government", according to a tweet published by XR at 12am on New Year's Day.
Want to stay in the loop with all of our environment news? Sign up to our free weekly newsletter Planet Bristol.
Read next:
- Bristol doctor and XR protester acquitted in court after blocking Lambeth Bridge
- Just Stop Oil protestors from Bristol charged after 'road blocking demonstration'
- Extinction Rebellion Bristol hold sit-down protest inside Broadmead bank
- Harrods targeted by Animal Rebellion milk protesters including Bristol student
- Tyre Extinguisher activists let down electric 4x4 tyres in Bristol
