Dorothea Hackman explains to a police officer why she is protesting against HS2

AN environmental campaign group known for its disruptive protests – including driving a pink boat through central London, blocking bridges and using bamboo structures to cut off roads – has announced it will “leave the locks, glue and paint behind” and instead target the “system” that is causing climate change.

Extinction Rebellion (XR) announced on New Year’s Eve it would “temporarily shift away from public disruption as a primary tactic” to focus instead on the “root causes” of the climate crisis.

The group describes itself as having brought about a “seismic shift” in the climate movement, but said “despite the blaring alarm… very little has changed”, adding: “Emissions continue to rise and our planet is dying at an accelerated rate.”

According to Dorothea Hackman of Camden Extinction Rebellion, local XR groups will now focus on targeting “power not people.”

“As I understand it we are dissociating Extinction Rebellion from actions that disrupt the public,” she said. “Personally I think actions disrupting the public were motivated before lockdown because they widened the Overton Window.”

The “Overton Window” is a term used in political theory to describe the range of ideas the mainstream public finds acceptable at any one time.

An XR protest in Oxford Circus

“Suddenly everyone was talking about the issue of climate change and ecocide, and it is really important that happened,” Ms Hackman said. “Now that it’s happened, there’s no logic in disrupting the public. Disrupting the public hasn’t moved things on. Now we need to target power, not people.”

According to Ms Hackman, XR will now focus on disrupting the government, as well as big finance companies and “all enablers”.

“We want the government to implement the action plan they adopted when they recognised the climate emergency, and stop investment in new fossil fuels. [We want] big finance companies to stop doing that too, and all enablers, like solicitors,” she said.

She said local authorities also cannot be “let off the hook” because although they drew up a series of targets she said “they’re not quantified, they’re not on a timescale, there’s no way they will achieve the necessary reductions by 2030.”

XR is now preparing for April 21 which it is calling “The Big One”, when it plans to mobilise 100,000 people to descend on the Houses of Parliament to demand change. The group has said it hopes to reach a “critical mass of people to create a moment that’s impossible to ignore.”

The group also wants to see “changes to democracy”, such as the introduction of Citizens Assemblies as the driving force behind policy.

“We have to compel the government to take action –we need action immediately” said Ms Hackman. “If the only way to do that is a show of strength, then that’s what it will take. What will my grandchildren think of me if I don’t stand up at this juncture?”