The Commons: What Role Will Extinction Rebellion Play In The UK’s Climate Reckoning?

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With climate change an ever-worrying reality, concerns around lacking governmental responses have led to a rise in environmental activism. One of the groups on the ground is Extinction Rebellion (XR) an organization dedicated to addressing the climate emergency through peaceful protest. 

XR has three core demands within the UK. First, “They want the government to declare a ‘climate and ecological emergency’ and work together with other institutions to help spread the message calling for things to change.” Second, “they want the UK to "act now" to stop loss of habitat and reduce carbon emissions to net-zero by 2025.” Finally, “they want a special group called a Citizens' Assembly to be put together. It would be made up of people from across society, to decide how to solve the climate crisis, with advice from experts.” 

The methods they employ to bring about these aims are what could be classified as “Peaceful Civil Disobedience Tactics.” The most obvious of these is causing disruption, especially in city centers. From blocking bridges to summiting commuter trains, XR has caused a headache for much of the British public as well as the police force. Unfortunately for them, if their demands are to be met, they must disrupt Parliament, not the inconsequential Londoner on his way to work. The hope was to cause enough of a nuisance for British constituents that MPs have no choice but to respond to the Extinction Rebels, bringing the discussion from the streets to the House of Commons itself. 

Hope became a reality in April 2019, during which thousands “occupied key sites across London for almost two weeks.” The April Rebellion saw more than 1,000 arrested, another of XR’s tactics. The plan, devised by one of XR’s co-founders, Robert Hallam, “was to overwhelm the court system, with the aim of winning support and forcing change.” At the end of the two weeks, “XR’s representatives were sitting down for talks with senior politicians and ministers in the UK” and Westminster declared a climate emergency – the movement had been legitimized and the first of three demands met. 

While April 2019 may have seen success for the cause, the long term efficacy of XR is still up for debate. On one side, if the aim is to cause disruption, the question remains: for whom? As previously mentioned, the Rebels have been a nuisance for a vast array of the working British public. They may be drawing attention to the cause, but is it truly benefitting their cause? In order for true change to come from their demonstrations, XR needs to not alienate the common Briton, but invite them in. There’s a perception, especially from the political right, of the Extinction Rebels as a near-anarchist “eco-mob,” made up of burned-out environmentalist hippies. Beyond the British public affected by the April Rebellion, extreme “stress” was placed on London’s Met Police during the two weeks of organized protest. While a superintendent at Scotland Yard, Duncan McMillan, did admit that the protesters were “articulate and rational” as to their case, he also said he found the protests “abhorrent”– specifically referencing how the protests had impeded the NHS and free movement of ambulances. 

While the rebels may have achieved the first of three aims and landed a foot in Parliament’s door, many see the April protests as one step in XR’s alienation of the common British Public. Blue-collar workers, people who rely on the police and the NHS, and other unassuming Britons were affected massively in those two weeks, providing evidence for an already contentious identity that the group had taken on. The overarching question surrounding XR is their relationship with the public versus the political sphere. While many do support the Rebels’ cause, they may not agree with their methods. Though the aim of the organization is to draw the attention of politicians, XR protests cause more issues for the public than they do for Parliament. 

Another question surrounding XR and other organizations of this kind are their views on collaboration with Parliament, should the opportunity arise. The Extinction Rebels advocate a ‘Beyond Politics’ view – essentially a system of governance that relies on citizens’ assemblies and gives power to the people. The view itself is one of the reasons XR gets labeled as anarchist. Despite this public perception, the ‘Beyond Politics’ view is not inherently anarchist as it still operates within a hierarchical leadership system. For something to be truly anarchist, it must attempt to tear down the preexistent structure of governance; The term anarchy itself comes from the greek: an- meaning without and -arkhos meaning leader. If XR was anarchist, they would not attempt to operate in any system of governance – they would advocate a movement that actively refuses the systems already in place. 

Though not anarchist, the ‘Beyond Politics’ view has created issues. The overarching cause behind XR is fighting climate change, a topic Labour was willing to engage with in the most recent national election. 2019 saw Labour introduce “a raft of policies to rapidly decarbonise the economy and invest in sustainable, well-paid, unionised jobs: its so-called green industrial revolution.” Any one of these policies would have supported the fight against climate change, but to the “dismay of both Labour party activists and some inside the movement – [Extinction Rebellion] did not mobilise behind Labour’s climate offer” leading many to question the core aims of XR: Reform or Revolution? Is it enough to adjust the systems in place – instituting new policies, electing new leaders – or must the entire system be dismantled and rebuilt? 

Extinction Rebellion, while the most prominent currently, is not the first organization to adopt this manner of protest. The question remains, can they balance their public perception and internal debates in order to get the job done.