Global climate activism sparks controversy amid escalating protests

Climate activists around the world have been employing increasingly disruptive tactics to draw awareness toward environmental abuses they believe pose a threat to the planet. Their methods, which have included blocking traffic, occupying vessels and defacing art, have been met with varying responses from law enforcement, lawmakers and the general public.

“We’ve tried every other method before,” said Alex De Koning, a spokesperson for the activism group Just Stop Oil. “Voting, running for office, petitions, petitions, and none of them have been effective. So, we needed to step up and create massive resistance.”

Activists argue that the urgency of the environmental crisis demands more drastic measures, citing a report from the United Nations that warns of irreversible damage to the Earth’s climate without immediate action.

“To stay below the target set in the Paris Agreements and thereby minimizing the risks of setting off irreversible chain reaction beyond human control, we need immediate, drastic, annual emission cuts unlike anything the world has ever seen,” said climate activist Greta Thunberg.

The U.N.’s data outlines potential consequences such as more frequent and damaging heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, tropical storms and unrecoverable losses in ecosystems. Worsening health conditions and shrinking access to food, water, and housing are also anticipated.

“In short, the report shows that the emissions gap is more like an emissions canyon. A canyon littered with broken promises, broken lives and broken records,” said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. “All of this is a failure of leadership, a betrayal of the vulnerable and a massive missed opportunity.”

However, as the severity of protest tactics has escalated, so has the response from authorities. In both the United States and abroad, laws have been enacted with an aim of discouraging these types of demonstrations.

To deter protestors by enforcing harsher penalties, 21 U.S. states have adopted critical infrastructure protection laws, with many using language drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a lobbyist group funded by fossil fuel companies.

“These defenders are basically trying to save the planet, and in doing so save humanity,” said Mary Lawlor, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights defenders. “These are people we should be protecting, but are seen by governments and corporations as a threat to be neutralized. In the end it’s about power and economics. What’s clear is that states learn from each other”

Elsewhere, members of Parliament in the United Kingdom have passed legislation granting police new powers to combat protests and activism, along with increased potential punishments for participants. Meanwhile, Australia has faced scrutiny from Human Rights Watch, accusing the country of disproportionately punishing climate protesters.

“Peaceful protesters can face up to two years in prison. Legislation rammed through parliament by lawmakers that increases fines for protest activity to tens of thousands of dollars,” said Sophie McNeill, an Australia researcher for Human Rights Watch. “Activists attending a protest can be charged for the costs of police and emergency services. Unfortunately, this is happening right now in Australia.”

Beyond legal consequences, activists have also encountered violent repercussions from their protests.

In November, environmentalists protesting the construction of a new law enforcement training compound in Atlanta, dubbed “Cop City,” faced tear gas and flash-bang grenades from police. Activism groups claim that the facility’s development poses a threat to hundreds of acres of the nation’s largest urban forest.

“We have the highest percentage of tree canopy of any major metropolitan area in America. Our canopy is the main factor in ensuring Atlanta’s resiliency in the face of climate change,” said activists with Defend The Atlanta Forest in a statement. “The Atlanta Police Department seeks to turn 300 acres of forest into a tactical training compound featuring a mock city. This project was announced to the shock of community members who had been given no opportunity to weigh in on the proposal. The entire process has been shadier than the forest itself.”

The ongoing dispute has led to the arrest and charging of dozens of individuals who campaigned against Cop City, with some facing charges as domestic terrorists.

Earlier this year, tensions escalated further when an environmentalist was shot and killed by police during a demonstration. Law enforcement officials maintain that the individual in question was armed and had fired upon responding officers, leading them to respond with lethal force. This incident marked the first time in modern U.S. history that a fatal officer-involved shooting occurred as a result of climate activism.

The threat of violence against protestors has not come solely from interactions with law enforcement either. In November, amid anti-mining protests in Panama, a motorist fatally shot two people taking part in a demonstration that involved blocking a section of the Pan American Highway.

A report from the nonprofit Global Witness indicated that between 2012 and 2022, nearly 2,000 environmental and land-defense activists were killed, averaging one death every two days. With 2023 is set to be the warmest year on record, the urgency felt by environmentalists for action is high, even as it raises concerns about potential clashes between activists and those opposing their methods.