Extinction Rebellion ends disruption demos…piling pressure on Just Stop Oil

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Extinction Rebellion ends disruption demos…piling pressure on Just Stop Oil
Extinction Rebellion ends disruption demos…piling pressure on Just Stop Oil

EXTINCTION Rebellion has vowed to end its disruptive demonstrations in 2023 because "nothing has changed".

The eco group announced that instead of blocking roads, smashing windows, vandalising buildings and dangling from bridges, it will turn to simply "talking".

Extinction Rebellion activists lie on the ground after being arrested in London qhiqquiqxziqeprw
Extinction Rebellion activists lie on the ground after being arrested in LondonCredit: Getty
Members of the climate protest group in London's Parliament Square
Members of the climate protest group in London's Parliament SquareCredit: AFP
An activist being detained during a protest in Paris
An activist being detained during a protest in ParisCredit: AFP

The surprise announcement was made quietly via an email to supporters just after midnight on New Year's Day.

A spokesperson said: "Extinction Rebellion is making a bold New Year’s resolution for 2023: we’re quitting actions that target the disruption of the public.

"This is a big decision. Public disruption has raised the alarm on the climate and ecological emergency incredibly successfully.

World’s first tractor powered by cow dung could help tackle climate changeWorld’s first tractor powered by cow dung could help tackle climate change

"But while the alarm has been raised, nothing has really changed.

"So in 2023, it’s time to try something different."

Instead of its usual stunts which caused traffic jams, petrol shortages and even stopped people getting to work and receiving hospital treatment, XR members will this year "prioritise attendance over arrest" and "relationships over roadblocks".

This means, they said, "taking disruption directly to the UK's seat of power".

The decision will pile pressure on environmentalists at Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain, who used similar tactics in 2022.

But Just Stop Oil has promised to continue its disruption, potentially going even further than before.

A spokesperson said the UK was "barrelling down the highway to the loss of ordered society" so its members must "move from disobedience into civil resistance".

Insulate Britain, which repeatedly clogged roads last year, also shows no sign of stopping, with members "committed to civil resistance as the only appropriate and affective response".

Some of XR's most infamous action has involved its members lying in roads and suspending themselves from bridges.

The group was also behind blockades at major oil facilities, the spraying of fake blood at the Treasury and Buckingham Palace, and the smashing of glass at the News UK building and Barclays Bank HQ.

Keir Starmer urged to return £360k of donations from eco-warriors Just Stop OilKeir Starmer urged to return £360k of donations from eco-warriors Just Stop Oil

Activists even glued themselves to supercars at the Paris Motor Show and

An environmental demo outside Buckingham Palace
An environmental demo outside Buckingham PalaceCredit: AFP
Just Stop Oil protesters on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge closed to traffic
Just Stop Oil protesters on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge closed to trafficCredit: PA
Activists blocking a road in London
Activists blocking a road in LondonCredit: Reuters
A protester being removed by stewards at a Premier League match
A protester being removed by stewards at a Premier League matchCredit: Getty

Alice Fuller

Just Stop Oil, Extinction Rebellion, Climate change and environment

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