‘Why the climate movement needs more direct action’

Thousands of Bristolians marched through the city for a Global Day of Climate Justice on November 6.

Organised by the COP26 Coalition, the Bristol demonstration coincided with 300 other similar events across the world against the inadequacy of world leaders in Glasgow.

There was plenty of frustration voiced against the leaders that have failed us, and Greta Thunberg’s now-famous taunt of “Blah, Blah, Blah” was seen on many placards.

It is entirely right to criticise politicians for lack of action, for being all talk and no trousers.

Yet, are we in the climate movement any better?

With the exception of a few notable acts by XR (Extinction Rebellion) in 2019, Bristol’s climate activism all too often consists of nothing but a lot of talking and the occasional march.

This, despite widespread knowledge that A to B marches don’t work. (Stop the War’s march of 2003 is the classic example. Spoiler: it didn’t stop the war.)

Greta Thunberg’s now-famous taunt of “Blah, Blah, Blah” was seen on many placards – photo by Rob Browne

Sure, getting people in the streets hits the news and spreads the message, but it doesn’t decarbonise energy, take cars off the road, insulate homes or reduce meat and dairy consumption, and all the other things we need to do to drastically cut our carbon emissions.

Now you may argue: that’s not fair. It’s not our job to do those things. It is our politicians who need to make the changes.

And to a degree this is true: in an ideal world, our politicians would be doing this. But they’re not, and we don’t have time to wait for them to start.

A delayed clean air zone, a workplace parking levy kicked into the long grass, a citizen’s assembly effectively ignored, homes built on green fields and flood plains, and continued support for airport expansion.

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Read more: Bristol’s clean air zone to be introduced in summer 2022

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With the failure of Bristol’s administration to act on what are clear moral and scientific truths, why should we deny ourselves the agency to take control of our own fate?

Last week, Swedish academic and climate activist Andreas Malm gave a talk at the Malcolm X Centre. He spoke about his 2021 book How to Blow Up a Pipeline in which he addresses the limitations of traditional climate activists’ non-violence and calls for more radical direct action.

Malm is quick to emphasise that this does not mean violence against people, only infrastructure. He is equally quick to clarify that direct action doesn’t have to be as extreme as blowing up a pipeline but could be the more “mundane” act of toppling the statue of a slave trader.

Such acts take climate activism from abstract demands to direct and concrete interventions to create the world in which we wish to live.

Whilst Bristol has no pipelines to speak of, there are still lots of options for direct action, and plenty of inspiration, too.

Against Bristol Citry Council’s foot-dragging on active travel, we could follow activists in San Francisco and install our own. City authorities even made some of the guerilla lanes permanent.

We could begin to address car culture with mock road signs as activists in Ealing recently did.

Taking inspiration from the uncompromising style of Palestine Action, we could begin targeting and shutting down bad actors.

Reducing meat consumption, as Animal Rebellion does with their McDonald’s sit-ins and their blockades of major distribution centres.

And the big one: Bristol Airport expansion. Our region’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter. If given the green light to expand, there will need to be a concerted campaign of resistance as has been seen against HS2.

We should not, of course, mindlessly cut and paste the actions of others without carefully planning the Bristol-specific whos, whats, whens, wheres, whys and hows.

But we must focus our energy on things that will, ultimately, create change.

The time for talking is over. So too is the time for marching. Now is the time for action.

If this sounds like something you want to see, leave a comment, share this post, and start organising.

Main photo by Martin Booth 

James Ward is an activist, writer and founder of www.thebristolactivist.com/.

This article was originally posted on his blog and has been re-published by Bristol24/7 with permission.

Read more: Thousands attend climate march coinciding with COP26

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