WHAT’S your stance on people who throw soup at paintings, chain themselves to railings, and launch arson attacks on post-boxes?
Do you see them as a nonsense, a nuisance, or a not yet appreciated hero?
I was at a fascinating conference last week that was all about communicating complicated topics like AI, biodiversity, and climate change. One of the speakers was a 24- year-old PhD student studying green hydrogen, who, when not researching non-polluting forms of energy, volunteers with the UK protest organisation Just Stop Oil.
Just Stop Oil describes itself as a group of “ordinary people demanding the UK Government immediately halt all new oil and gas consents and licences” . The protestors engage in non-violent civil resistance against the UK government, who have big plans to let oil and gas companies dig up more fossil fuels.
You have probably seen an eye-catching Just Stop Oil protest. Exploding orange powder all over the green baize of a World Championship snooker table, scattering orange confetti on a Wimbledon court, or slow-marching through London city causing traffic disruption.
The group’s protests are designed to draw attention to the fact that the UK government’s plans to allow new oil and gas exploration and exploitation are contrary to what scientists tell us is needed - 90% of coal and 60% of oil and gas reserves have to stay in the ground if there is to be even a 50% chance of keeping global heating below 1.5C.
Retired head teachers, social workers, psychotherapists, priests, nursery school teachers, construction workers and university students are just some of the types of concerned citizens who are so worried about those scientific facts that they are willing to risk arrest to protest against the UK government.
Last month, activists smashed the protective glass of a famous painting in London’s National Gallery. The same artwork was attacked back in 1914 by a suffragette calling for women’s vote. Just Stop Oil said: “Women did not get the vote by voting, it is time for deeds, not words. It is time to Just Stop Oil”
In his speech, Just Stop Oil spokesperson Alex De Koning referenced the suffragette movement as an example of how civil resistance and disobedience has long been used to bring about change.
Emily Pankhurst’s suffragette movement deployed violent means to make the issue mainstream- bomb and arson attacks were tools to draw attention to the cause of women’s right to vote.
The violent campaigns of the suffragette movement were disruptive, costly and unpopular with the public at the time. Non-violent campaigners for women’s right to vote worried the attention-seeking stunts were counterproductive to achieving their aims.
However, in 1918 women in the UK (and Ireland!) were finally able to vote. The debate about whether the bombing and arson attacks were a help or a hindrance to the cause continues today.
Just Stop Oil activists are often met with hostility and anger, and accusations that their protests lack credibility, are sowing division, and inadvertently making climate action more difficult.
De Koning argued Just Stop Oil is following in the footsteps of people like the Suffragettes who have been vindicated with time.
He used an analogy of a cancer diagnosis to emphasise the urgent need to fix the climate crisis.
If any of us were told we had a serious cancer, we would treat it like an emergency, start treating the disease immediately, and would do everything we could to give us better odds at surviving.
Until the UK government starts acting like there is an emergency and embraces life-saving therapy (leave oil and gas in the ground), Just Stop Oil and their ilk will keep coming up with stunts that annoy, disrupt, and raise awareness.
Unfortunately, when it comes to the global climate, what British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak decides to do affects us all.
Research tells us that just ten minutes learning about climate science increases support for change.
I think when Just Stop Oil attract our distracted attention and start conversations about climate science, they are doing good.
I shook De Koning’s hand after the event to thank him for his work. To me, those protesters are incredibly courageous and generous to sacrifice their time, reputations and, for those who have been imprisoned, freedom for all of us to have a better prognosis.
No need for New Year SUV
It’s December, so the ads from car companies telling us to buy a new 241 model have started.
Unless you are driving a creaking jalopy that the lads in the NCT have deemed unroadworthy, you probably don’t need a new car. But if you are in need of four new wheels to transport you from A to B, please don’t buy an SUV.
I’ve written about all the reasons to avoid SUVs before, but it feels like Ireland is well behind the curve when it comes to shunning SUVs.
In Paris, Mayor Anne Hidalgo has blazed a path toward a greener future for the City of Lights. She has championed pedestrian-friendly policies, converting historic boulevards into vibrant green spaces and cycling lanes, reducing air pollution, and promoting active lifestyles.
Her bold vision for a car-free city centre has curtailed carbon emissions and revitalised public spaces, and now she’s going after SUVs.
In February, Parisians will vote on drastically increasing parking fees for SUVs.
If passed, the cost of on-street parking for an SUV will rise to €18 an hour in the centre of Paris.
Paris City Council say the proposed parking tariff will deter SUV drivers from coming into the city and raise tens of millions that can be spent supporting Parisians to live more sustainable lives.
Maybe this is the type of radical action we need in Cork to steer us to a greener path!
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