Radicalism in Climate Activism: Strategies, Impact, and Challenges
Exploring Activist Strategies, Public Perception, and the Collective Effort to Combat Climate Change
As the climate crisis intensifies, a radical wing of the climate movement is emerging, using tactics like blocking traffic, slow marches, paint smearing, food throwing, and event disruptions to highlight the need for urgent climate action. While these confrontational strategies have been widely reported, including a recent incident in which activists threw soup on the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, let’s try to understand more about climate activism and the impact it actually has on the climate crisis.
What is climate activism?
Climate activism is the collective effort of individuals and groups to address and solve climate change, extending from local initiatives to global campaigns1. The primary goal is to raise awareness on climate change in order to foster a sustainable environment for future generations, countering the negative effects of human activities. Climate activism has been more present in recent years, ranging from small actions like posting on social media to more radical steps to express of growing anger and frustration.
Who are climate activists?
In research conducted on climate activists, it was found that the majority of these activists are female, accounting for 61%. They are also predominantly well-educated, with 91% having completed college and a third possessing advanced degrees like PhDs. Contrary to the frequent media depictions of younger activists, the average age of activists is 52 years old, with 25% being 69 years of age or older2
The activist’s dilemma
As the effects of climate change exacerbate, activists must choose between moderate actions that frequently escape media attention and more extreme measures that capture headlines but might alienate the public’s opinion. This challenging situation arises from the media's tendency to spotlight sensational events (like throwing soup on the Mona Lisa) over peaceful protests, pushing activists into a tight spot between obscurity and controversy. So what is the right approach?
According to a study conducted by the Oxford Brookes Centre for Psychological Research, experiments in which people disliked protesters' actions did not impact their support for the environmental demands. This implies that the public's agreement with a cause can be distinct from their views on the protest methods used. This indicates that high-visibility actions, despite potentially decreasing public identification with activists, can effectively raise awareness on a topic and boost support for more moderate factions of a social movement by comparatively lessening their perceived radicalism.3
So what are activists demanding?
Activists’ demands vary depending on the organization and country. In the case of the latest scandal at the Louvre, the activists were asking for better access to sustainable and affordable food in France.
To take a more general example, let’s look into the demands of Fridays for Future, a youth activist group created by the famous activist Greta Thumberg which has been protesting on Fridays to demand urgent actions to fight climate change. The demands of Fridays for Future, as stated in the Declaration of Lausanne, are the following:
Keep the global temperature rise below 1.5 °C compared to pre-industrial levels.
Ensure climate justice and equity.
Listen to the best united science currently available.
How can you take action?
While opinions about the effectiveness of these protests and actions may vary, there is a clear need to fight climate change and drag attention to this issue. Protesting is one way but there are also many other ways you may contribute to solving the problem:
Informing yourself: understanding the issue is the very first step to taking action. Reading articles and informing yourself on this topic (like you are doing right now) is already a great start.
Engage in conversations with others: Now that you have arguments you can use, talk to your friends, colleagues and family about this and discuss this topic openly. Share what you’ve learned and listen to others and their opinions or concerns.
Reduce your own impact: There are many steps you can take to reduce our environmental impact like consuming less, switching to clean energy, or calling your bank to make sure your money is sustainably invested.
Engage in activism: While you do not need to throw soup anywhere, you may post on social media or attend peaceful protests to show your support to the cause. You can also engage in activism within your company by pointing out any unsustainable practices and advocating for more sustainable solutions.
Final thoughts
As we reflect on this journey of activism and the challenges it poses, we must recognize that taking action is not limited to radical gestures; it begins with understanding, conversation, and personal commitment. Whether it's educating ourselves, engaging in dialogues with others, reducing our own environmental footprint, or participating in activism, we all have a role to play in addressing the climate crisis. The path forward is not just about the actions of a few, but the collective efforts of many, united in the pursuit of a sustainable future for our planet.
This Week in Sustainability is a weekly email from Brightest (and friends) about sustainability and climate strategy. If you’ve enjoyed this piece, please consider forwarding it to a friend or teammate. If you’re reading it for the first time, we hope you enjoyed it enough to consider subscribing. If we can be helpful to you or your organization’s sustainability journey, please be in touch.
https://onlinedegrees.unr.edu/blog/environmental-activism/
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/understanding-the-growing-radical-flank-of-the-climate-movement-as-the-world-burns/
https://brookes.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=384ad6d2-e8c1-4f38-bb5f-af1e00e54fda