Welcome to Newsletter XTRA, where everything we couldn’t fit into the main Global Newsletter has its moment to shine. This month we cover actions in Spain, Austria, France, Poland, India, Panama, Scotland, Israel, USA, Norway, and more…
5 NOV | Madrid, Spain: Activists from Futuro Vegetal glue themselves to the frames of two Goya paintings called ‘The Majas’ and write ‘+1.5 °C’ between them. The Majas portray the same reclining woman clothed and then naked.
5 NOV | Linz, Austria: In the face of a massive police deployment, rebels continue to protest against the construction of the A26 motorway, a fossil fuel mega project.
5 NOV | Toulouse, France: 2 Dernière Rénovation activists interrupt a rugby match.
10 NOV | Poznań, Poland: Fake blood is poured over rebels to condemn the use of gas fields in nearby Sierosław. "This blood is artificial, but it symbolises our future, which is painted in the darkest colours". Photo: Marysia Kołodziej
11 NOV | Lucknow, India: Activists with Fridays For Future stage a protest.
13 NOV | Panama City, Panama: Debt For Climate activists march through the capital. The protest finished with a die-in on the city’s streets.
14 NOV | Glasgow, Scotland: Rebels break windows at Barclays bank’s new offices. The bank is the biggest funder of fossil fuel in Europe and provides money to develop Rosebank, a vast, untapped oil and gas field in the North Sea. The action was one of over 100 to take place at Barclays branches across the UK. Thousands of rebels took part, and 25 were arrested, including 3 just for handing out leaflets.
14 NOV | Tel Aviv, Israel: Phoenix Insurance Company invests pension money in fossil fuels, so rebels blocked the entrance to their offices and glued themselves to the floor.
18 NOV | Melbourne, Australia: Rebels rally outside the office of their local politician to demand more protection for koalas and the forests they live in. The marsupials are now listed as endangered in parts of the country.
18 NOV | Berlin, Germany: XR joins other groups to protest against the imprisonment of 19 Last Generation activists in Munich. One prisoner went on hunger strike, and many activists joined him in solidarity. All 19 activists were finally released a week later, after nearly a month in custody without trial.
19 NOV | Bologna, Italy: Rebels occupy a major bridge for 6 hours, converting it into a social space for yoga and dancing. The action was part of a three-day rebellion against the city’s regional government, which is busy expanding motorways instead of addressing the climate crisis.
23 NOV | Leiden, Netherlands: Rebels take (naked) action at Naturalis Biodiversity Center. The rebels stood next to a mammoth skeleton to highlight the threat to humanity posed by the climate and ecological crisis.
28 NOV | Europe & North America: Tyre Extinguisher activists in 8 countries deflated the tyres of 900 SUVs in the biggest action against high-carbon vehicles in history.
28 NOV | Boston, USA: Rebels hold a funeral procession to mourn the inevitable loss of life after the failure of COP 27. Participants carried ecologically-themed light boxes to the home of the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.
28 NOV | London, UK: Just Stop Oil activists stop for a drink at a pub after around 80 police officers and 6 police vans followed them on their ‘slow walk’ through the streets of London. The new strategy of slowly walking with traffic rather than blocking it is just as disruptive but less arrestable - the perfect recipe. 28 activists are still in prison in the UK, and police have started arresting journalists covering their actions.
30 NOV | Trondheim, Norway: Four Just Stop Oil activists block a main road, calling for the Norwegian government to stop all oil exploration.
2 DEC | Sandton, South Africa: XR Vaal join with other climate justice groups to march on the energy company Sasol during its AGM. About 250 activists called on the energy giant to abandon greenwashing and attempt genuine decarbonization. After the protest, shareholders voted in favour of “climate change future plans”.
