Extinction Rebellion Has a Class Problem…Which No-one is Talking About
As Extinction Rebellion (XR) protesters bring London to a standstill, there is very little conversation of the underlying issues that permeate the organisation.
XR was formed on a decentralised structure where any protesting individual can attach oneself to its message if they adhere to its core principles. Looking closely at founding members and leading campaigners in the quest for climate justice, it’s very difficult to pinpoint how many of them originate from working-class backgrounds or are committed to industrial struggle.
The climate emergency is inherently a socialist solution. Ongoing climate disasters, particularly in the global south, have caused more internal displacement than war. Wildfires and storms that have ravaged rural and poor communities contributed to 30 million people being displaced last year, bearing the title “climate refugees”. Meanwhile, across Britain, a decimated manufacturing industry that heavily relied on fossil fuels has been used as political pawn between two warring parties over its future. There are a number of individuals working to incorporate class-consciousness into climate justice, but XR isn’t one of them.
Infamously in October 2019, enraged XR protesters attempted to stop a Tube from leaving Canning Town station in East London during the rush hour period. One commuter cried: “I have to get to work, I have to feed my kids.” Traditionally a low-income neighbourhood, Canning Town had historically been the industrial hub for the East End docklands. Many of its residents use its various public transport links to get around, therefore XR’s directed chaos towards public transport users was startling.
More recently, a Twitter user claimed that she was confronted by a XR activist who happened to be a landlord who supposedly didn’t need to work but pilloried the woman for doing so. The founding members of XR and other environmental organisations have been criticised for being too white and too middle class to stand up for working people. Research conducted by the University of Michigan found that race diversity on leadership boards of environmental organisations “did not exceed 16%”. XR co-founder Roger Hallam, a lifelong campaigner in the green movement, was awarded a PhD from a Russell Group university so barely identifies with the struggles of working-class environmental liberation.
Whilst XR generates widespread yet hostile media coverage for its campaigning tactics, there are working-class climate protests going unnoticed. Writer and senior lecturer in environmental justice at the University of West England, Karen Bell, wrote a book on the proletariat green movement. Bell attempts to shine a spotlight on those at grassroots level doing their utmost, and for generations being ignored, in their efforts to combat climate change and pollution. From someone who refused to pay their water bill until it was tested for pollutants, to trade unions calling for a transition to sustainability for its workers.
There are politicians on the left of the traditional partisan structure who are pushing for legislation that partners the labour movement and trade unions with climate justice. Socialist firebrand and US Democratic representative, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, signed a bill urging a Green New Deal for low-income communities. Meanwhile, a similar proposal has been called by some Labour officials with a green industrial revolution. Both these measures would create millions of unionised jobs that would transform industries reliant on fossil fuels to commit to renewable energy and cut half of emissions by 2030.
Former employees of the manufacturing industry that have been left demoralised by establishment politics and party machines are only witness to middle-class protesters grinding large urban areas to a halt when it comes to climate change. Efforts to tackle the emergency in local communities has been overlooked by the notorious activities of a fractured group like XR.
A spokesperson for XR admitted they got the Canning Town tube controversy very wrong. It remains to be seen whether the organisation will change its strategy and empower the less affluent to join the campaign for a carbon-neutral future. Class has always been at the forefront of the climate emergency, with those at the bottom at risk of displacement and rampant unemployment. The international refugee crisis will continue to soar if climate change and its effects on the poor are not at the centre of the fight for carbon neutrality.
XR, its affiliates and other environmental NGOs have taken a classist approach thus far. It’s time to change that. Climate justice groups should commit to grassroots activism, incorporating working-class individuals by sharing their stories and frustrations to the corporate sphere. Without frank discussions with those already suffering from pollution and a warming globe, true environmental liberation will cease to exist.
