In Defence of Protest

The text defends environmental protest and civil disobedience as essential democratic instruments for addressing the climate and biodiversity crises. It highlights the role of movements like Fridays for Future and Extinction Rebellion in mainstreaming climate action while warning against a global trend of criminalising activists through repressive legislation. The author criticises 'greenwashing' and 'citizenwashing' by private and public sectors, particularly within the COP framework, and calls on the EU to uphold the Aarhus Convention to ensure genuine public participation in environmental decision-making.

• Grassroots movements such as Fridays for Future (FFF) and Extinction Rebellion (XR) have successfully shifted the public discourse on climate breakdown. FFF's 2019 'Global Climate Strike' involved four million people across 163 countries, while XR has established 1,265 local chapters in 79 countries.
• The Conference of the Parties (COP) is criticised as a venue for 'greenwashing' and 'pontification' rather than meaningful action. The author notes that COP27 sponsors had direct ties to fossil fuels and that the UAE nominated its state oil company to lead COP28.
• There is a global trend of 'democratic backsliding' and the criminalisation of environmental activists. Examples include the UK's Police, Crime and Sentencing Bill which outlaws 'nuisance' protests, the use of anti-terrorism laws for preventive detention of activists in Germany, and the use of the term 'eco-terrorists' in French media discourse.
• Environmental activists and legal practitioners are increasingly using 'movement lawyering' and the 'defence of climate necessity' to challenge executive overreach. In the UK, 120 barristers have vowed not to prosecute peaceful protesters or work on new fossil fuel projects.
• The author urges the EU to reverse the decline in public participation by adhering to the Aarhus Convention, which guarantees the right to environmental information and public participation in decision-making.
• Collective resistance and protest have led to specific victories, including the cancellation of the XL Keystone oil pipeline in Canada (2021), the protection of 500,000 acres of Amazonian rainforest in Ecuador (2019), and the cancellation of a $2.4 billion lithium mine in Serbia (2022).

APA

Snelson, B. (2023). In Defence of Protest. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/in-defence-of-protest/

Chicago

Snelson, Ben. In Defence of Protest. Green European Journal, 2023. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/in-defence-of-protest/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Snelson |first1=Ben |title=In Defence of Protest |publisher=Green European Journal |date=24 July 2023 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/in-defence-of-protest/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{snelson2023defence, author = {Snelson, Ben}, title = {{In Defence of Protest}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2023}, month = jul, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/in-defence-of-protest/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }