Britain's new prime minister, Rishi Sunak, even announced his intention to bow out of COP27, arguing that "domestic challenges" with the economy were more pressing, before international pressure forced him to relent. Predictably, his speech at COP27 was short on specifics or commitments.
These are the UK's responses despite the growing chorus of alarm from expert bodies. Last month the United Nations warned that, even assuming industrialised nations stick to pledges to cut emissions, the world is heading towards a 2.5C rise in temperatures and catastrophic climate breakdown.
The World Meteorological Organization, meanwhile, noted that the three greenhouse gases have reached record highs, with methane - the biggest offender - showing the largest year-on-year jump.
Nature Strikes BackCivil disobedience is a symptom not of the climate crisis - nature won't listen to the protesters - but of the inaction that continues to be the default position of governing political elites, as well as the billionaire-owned media that is supposed to serve as a watchdog on their power.
For that reason, criticism of the protests has missed the point. The activists aren't trying to win elections - they are not engaged in a popularity contest.
Their goal is to disrupt narratives and mobilise resistance. That requires building consciousness among those parts of the populace more receptive to their message, swelling the ranks of activists prepared to take part in civil disobedience, and making life ever harder for things to continue as normal.
Such a programme was bound to provoke a backlash, most especially from political and media elites but also from parts of the public. It is that backlash - one that demands respect for effigies of the royal family or works of art above the survival of our species - that challenges current social norms.
The protesters have a huge task ahead. As the climate turns nastier, they need to harness public attention not only towards the causes but towards the true costs of reversing course - in the face of relentless misinformation and greenwashing from big business and government.
The establishment media is playing a crucial part in twisting social and political priorities. Every time it focuses on the inconvenience caused by the climate protests - or the potential risk of someone dying in an ambulance caught in a hold-up - it is downplaying what are already the tangible, lethal consequences of the climate emergency.
Large parts of the globe are already suffering. In Nigeria, many hundreds have been killed by recent flood waters, and more than a million forced from their homes. In the summer, a third of Pakistan was inundated by unexpectedly heavy rainfall. After visiting Pakistan, Guterres observed: "We have waged war on nature, and nature is striking back, and striking back in a devastating way."
Protest CrackdownNonetheless, the claim that there is widespread antipathy in Britain towards acts of civil disobedience on the climate is greatly overstated - and by the very same media outlets determined to play down the climate crisis.
An opinion poll published last month shows that two-thirds of Britons actually back non-violent protests to protect the environment - at a time when the mass media suggests climate activists have become pariahs.
Despite this, the rightwing Conservative government in London has been progressively eradicating the right of protest - precisely to prevent actions to highlight its continuing crimes against the planet.
A spate of recent legislation has been designed to criminalise any expression of dissent. The latest, the Public Order Bill being rushed through parliament, makes illegal any protest that causes "serious disruption" to more than one person. The earlier Police Bill defined serious disruption to include noisy demonstrations.
Actions like glueing oneself to railings, sitting in a road, obstructing fracking machinery or tunnelling can result in up to three years' imprisonment. "Disruption prevent orders" can be issued to anyone who has attended a protest in the last five years, banning them from taking part in future demonstrations for two years. Activists' freedom of movement can be limited by orders requiring them to wear an electronic tag or denying them entry to specified areas.
London's Metropolitan police vowed this week to increase the number of "pre-emptive arrests" after protesters managed to close parts of the M25 motorway around the capital.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
1
