Do you recommend peaceful civil disruption as an avenue for change? E.g. the public demos against Julian Batchelor's anti-co-governance tasks. Or the actions of Restore Passenger Rail?
In short, we see it a valid tool in the toolbox of climate action. Also, we sort of see civil disobedience as separate to marches/rallies, although they are both forms of protest.
We have also learnt a bit more nuance around civil disobedience since then. Something we didn't acknowledge in that original deep dive is the disproportionate impact that civil disobedience can have on BIPOC participants. Given that black and brown people are statistically much more likely to be targeted by police and receive much tougher sentences in court, we now recognise that civil disobedience is far more dangerous and life-altering for some groups more than others.
What's more, often these protests receive both public and political backlash. This can lead to the acceleration of draconian laws which crack down on our rights to protest and to challenge authority in general, like we've seen in the UK and South Australia. These laws often increase police power, surveillance, and state control. These factors are known to disproportionately harm non-white populations, even those who had nothing to do with the protests that led to these law changes in the first place.
So there are risks associated with these kinds of actions - not just for the individuals taking part, but also to:
- the public's support of climate action (the public might develop resentment/annoyance/other negative associations with climate action, rather than positive, "I want to be part of that!" vibes)
- the movement's freedom to protest (in the case of political backlash resulting in anti-protest laws)
- BIPOC communities (who are disproportionately harmed by increased policing & militancy)
These must be weighed up against the likelihood of each action/campaign's success, and how strategic the campaigns are when taking into account all the other asks in play across the climate movement at a given time.
Do you recommend peaceful civil disruption as an avenue for change? E.g. the public demos against Julian Batchelor's anti-co-governance tasks. Or the actions of Restore Passenger Rail?
Hi Sue, great question! We wrote a deep dive on the role of civil disobedience here: https://climateclubnz.substack.com/p/faq-whats-the-role-of-civil-disobedience
In short, we see it a valid tool in the toolbox of climate action. Also, we sort of see civil disobedience as separate to marches/rallies, although they are both forms of protest.
We have also learnt a bit more nuance around civil disobedience since then. Something we didn't acknowledge in that original deep dive is the disproportionate impact that civil disobedience can have on BIPOC participants. Given that black and brown people are statistically much more likely to be targeted by police and receive much tougher sentences in court, we now recognise that civil disobedience is far more dangerous and life-altering for some groups more than others.
What's more, often these protests receive both public and political backlash. This can lead to the acceleration of draconian laws which crack down on our rights to protest and to challenge authority in general, like we've seen in the UK and South Australia. These laws often increase police power, surveillance, and state control. These factors are known to disproportionately harm non-white populations, even those who had nothing to do with the protests that led to these law changes in the first place.
So there are risks associated with these kinds of actions - not just for the individuals taking part, but also to:
- the public's support of climate action (the public might develop resentment/annoyance/other negative associations with climate action, rather than positive, "I want to be part of that!" vibes)
- the movement's freedom to protest (in the case of political backlash resulting in anti-protest laws)
- BIPOC communities (who are disproportionately harmed by increased policing & militancy)
These must be weighed up against the likelihood of each action/campaign's success, and how strategic the campaigns are when taking into account all the other asks in play across the climate movement at a given time.