Scientist Rebellion
Scientist Rebellion is an international scientists' environmentalist group that campaigns for degrowth, climate justice and more effective climate change mitigation.[1] It is a sister organisation to Extinction Rebellion.[2]
It is a network of academics[3] that tries to raise awareness by engaging in non-violent civil disobedience.
Actions
The group was established around September 2020. Scientist Rebellion has carried out various protests during COP26. On 6 November 2021, activists blocked George V Bridge, Glasgow.[4] In April 2022, they blocked roads in Berlin in protest against oil extraction in the North Sea.[5]
In August 2021, the group leaked parts of the pre-final Working Group III contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) prior to intergovernmental approval.[6]
In late 2022, several activists protested at Autostadt Wolfsburg by glueing themselves onto the floor at the Porsche exhibit hall, later complaining they were left alone overnight.[7]
In October 2023, a member made international headlines by refusing to fly via plane from a field research assignment in Papua New Guinea. Instead, they intended to slow travel via container ships and land route to save 3,6 tons of CO2 equivalent. Their employer, Kiel Institute, threatened them with termination of their employment contract should they not arrive via plane. [8][9]
Debate and impact
Several researchers affiliated with the movement[10] (six overall) have argued for civil disobedience by colleagues in a commentary behind a paywall, hypothesizing that such may cause significant pro-climate net changes of public opinion due to "potential to cut through the myriad complexities and confusion" in the public, receiving substantial coverage by online text-based news media.[11][12]
See also
References
- ^ Scientist Rebellion Demands letter.
- ^ Cockburn, Harry (16 June 2022). "Spain 'arrests protesting climate scientists' amid historic heatwave". The Independent. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ^ Kelly, Orla; Illingworth, Sam; Butera, Fabrizio; Dawson, Vaille; White, Peta; Blaise, Mindy; Martens, Pim; Schuitema, Geertje; Huynen, Maud; Bailey, Susan; Cowman, Sian (2022). "Education in a warming world: Trends, opportunities and pitfalls for institutes of higher education". Frontiers in Sustainability. 3. doi:10.3389/frsus.2022.920375. ISSN 2673-4524.
- ^ Thompson, Tosin (18 November 2021). "Scientist Rebellion: researchers join protesters at COP26". Nature. 599 (7885): 357. doi:10.1038/d41586-021-03430-5. S2CID 244110931.
- ^ ""Scientist Rebellion" fordern Klimarevolution "jetzt!"". euronews (in German). 6 April 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ^ Hartz, Friederike (4 November 2022). "Leaking the IPCC: A question of responsibility?". WIREs Climate Change. doi:10.1002/wcc.814. ISSN 1757-7780. S2CID 253368636.
- ^ "Wissenschaftler kleben sich bei Porsche fest und klagen wenig später: "Keine Eimer, um zu urinieren"". Stern.de.
- ^ "A climate researcher risks losing university post for refusing to fly home". CNN.com. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "Climate scientist faces sack for refusing to fly to Germany from Solomon Islands archipelago". Guardian.com. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ Gardner, Charlie; Cox, Emily; Capstick, Stuart. "Extinction Rebellion scientists: Why we glued ourselves to a government department". phys.org. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "Scientists call on colleagues to protest climate crisis with civil disobedience". The Guardian. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ Capstick, Stuart; Thierry, Aaron; Cox, Emily; Berglund, Oscar; Westlake, Steve; Steinberger, Julia K. (September 2022). "Civil disobedience by scientists helps press for urgent climate action". Nature Climate Change. 12 (9): 773–774. doi:10.1038/s41558-022-01461-y. ISSN 1758-6798. S2CID 251912378.