In a world facing the escalating threats of climate change and biodiversity loss, radical environmentalism has emerged as a form of political, societal and environmental transformation. Published in 2023 by Emerald Points, Radical Environmental Resistance: Love, Rage, and Hope in an Era of Climate and Biodiversity Breakdown by Heather Alberro, a Lecturer in Global Sustainable Development at Nottingham Trent University, looks into the dynamics of environmental movements, emphasizing the role of contentious politics and the necessity of disruptive actions in challenging entrenched systems of power and promoting progressive change.
The book sheds light on how different factors affect environmental activists’ plans and pursuing their goals. The way political systems work—whether they are open and democratic or not—plays a big role in shaping how these activists protest. According to the sociologist and Professor Rob White, the way the government reacts to environmental movements influences their strategies and demands. For example, groups like Just Stop Oil and Ende Gëlande justify their disruptive actions by pointing to the failures of democratic decision-making and the complicity of states in perpetuating climate chaos.
The recent introduction of the UK Public Order Bill in May 2023 highlights how governments are increasingly cracking down on public dissent. This new law imposes severe penalties for actions like blocking roads and disrupting key infrastructure, all under the guise of protecting public safety. It also gives the police broader powers to stop and search individuals, making it easier to control and suppress protests.
The harsh sentences given to activists from groups like Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil, as well as Judge Kollery KC’s reasoning for these severe punishments, underscore a growing intolerance for non-violent protests. This trend reflects a move towards more extreme measures aimed at stifling dissent, demonstrating how the state’s response can significantly shape the nature of environmental activism.
Despite such repression, Alberro’s book shows that harsh government actions don’t stop activism—in fact, they can sometimes make it stronger. For example, the Italian ‘Salvini bis’ security decree of 2019, which imposed tough penalties on protestors, actually led to increased resistance from NoTAP activists. Similarly, the French government’s effort to ban the group Les Soulèvements de la Terre only made the group’s members more determined to fight on.
As criminologist Anna Di Ronco notes in an article about criminologist research on environmental and social harm, “The activists haven’t been discouraged; if anything, criminalization managed to unite us even more.” This suggests that repressive measures can backfire, leading to greater unity and commitment among activists.
In Public power in the age of Empire, Indian author Arundhati Roy powerfully highlights that choosing between different activism tactics—like being peaceful or militant—is often more about strategy than ideology. The book looks at how various factors, including politics, social class, and personal background, influence these decisions. For example, activists from privileged backgrounds might face fewer risks from arrest, whereas working-class activists of color might face much harsher consequences. This illustrates how different contexts and personal situations shape the tactics that activists choose to use.
Moreover, Alberro’s book also argues that the effectiveness of tactics is often context-dependent. For example, a hunger strike might be futile without media coverage to amplify the message. Similarly, peaceful petitions may be inadequate in the face of severe ecological threats, such as deep-sea mining for rare earth minerals, which poses substantial risks to marine ecosystems. The International Seabed Authority’s issuance of contracts for seabed exploration, despite significant opposition, exemplifies the dire need for more aggressive forms of resistance.
The book emphasizes the often subtle and delayed impacts of environmental activism, akin to the nature of climate change itself. The struggle for movement-building involves both failures and successes, with each mobilization contributing to the broader fight against ecological degradation. The prolonged resistance to the Lützerath village eviction in Germany, despite its eventual failure, inspired global solidarity and strengthened the resolve of other activist groups.
As climate shocks intensify, the ‘radical flank’ of environmental mobilizations is expected to expand and diversify. In an article on the radical flank of the climate movement, Dana R. Fisher and Quinn Renaghan argue that radical transformations are born of profound discontent with the status quo and cannot occur without some degree of violence against oppressive institutions. However, Alberro’s book cautions against uncontrolled violence and hate, advocating instead for tactics that build socio-ecologically caring communities and undermine the foundations of the dystopian present.
Radical Environmental Resistance: Love, Rage, and Hope in an Era of Climate and Biodiversity Breakdown provides a compelling examination of the interplay between contentious politics and radical environmentalism. It underscores the necessity of disruptive actions in challenging systemic inertia and achieving meaningful change. As environmental crises deepen, the book serves as a crucial resource for understanding the strategies, struggles, and resilience of those fighting for a more just and sustainable world.
