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 South Korea, USA, Austria, Hungary, Argentina, Pakistan, Syria, Poland, France, South Africa, Czech Republic, Colombia, Australia, Sweden, Israel, Serbia, Switzerland, Spain, and the UK. Phew!
18 SEP | Seoul, South Korea: XR Catholics, which includes rebel priests and nuns, march with placards that say "yes to degrowth, no to corporate growth" and "ecology ON, capitalism OFF". They later held a die-in.
21 SEP | Washington DC, USA: Rebels rally outside the Public Service Commission (PSC), the regulator that can stop further fossil fuel infrastructure in the city. Washington Gas wants to spend $4.5 billion on new gas pipelines, and PSC is waiving it through. Find out more about the rebel campaign to electrify DC instead!
21 SEP | Vienna, Austria: Rebels disrupt parliament, calling on their politicians to follow the recommendations of Austria’s first Climate Council - a Citizens’ Assembly that convened earlier this year.
22 SEP | Europe: Billboards across Europe have been covered with adverts satirising the airline industry and its greenwashing marketing. Anti-advertising movement Brandalism has pasted up work in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon, Rome and 10 other European cities. Photo: Brandalism Project
22 SEP | Budapest, Hungary: Rebels interrupt a panel discussion on energy platforming representatives from oil company MOL and Erste Bank, major extractors and financiers of fossil fuels.
23 SEP | Buenos Aires, Argentina: Rebels reenact the suffocation experienced by those living around the Paraná River following massive grassland wildfires. The performative protest was staged outside the Kirchner Cultural Centre.
23/24 SEP | Worldwide: Hundreds of thousands of people around the world, including rebels, took to the streets for the Global Climate Strike organised by Fridays For Future. Protests took place in Pakistan, USA, Poland, Syria, France, South Africa, and more countries than we can ever hope to cover.
26 SEP | Prague, Czech Republic: A coalition of activists demonstrated outside the Green Deal Summit 2022, sponsored by (drumroll) Shell. The gratuitous greenwashing by fossil fuel companies was rightly condemned. Banner: Climate Justice. Photo: Zewlakk
27 SEP | Bogota, Colombia: Rebels placed empty shoes outside parliament to represent murdered activists as politicians debated the Escazú agreement. If ratified, the international treaty will usher in sweeping reforms to bring about climate justice and protect those who champion it.
27 SEP | Stockholm, Sweden: XR group ‘Rebel Mothers’ sit outside the Swedish Parliament, demanding a sustainable future for their children.
30 SEP | Brunswick, Australia: ‘Blinky’ the giant burnt koala arrives in Brunswick to meet the Minister for Environment and urge better forest protection.
1 OCT | Feldkirch, Austria: Rebels blockade a bridge to protest a proposed tunnel and motorway project that will increase car usage and cost around €1.5bn.
2 OCT | Giv'atayim, Israel: Rebels occupied the lobby of Phoenix Insurance Group, one of Israel’s largest investors in fossil fuels. They toasted cocktails of oil and money.
2 OCT | Belgrade, Serbia: Rebels find new homes for plants in a once loved garden set to be destroyed for the construction of a new building.
4 OCT | Lausanne, Switzerland: Four supporters of Renovate Switzerland block a highway and demand their government mobilise the country for decarbonisation.
5 OCT | Madrid, Spain: Rebels seal the holes of the Madrid Open golf course with cement. The course consumes 100,000 litres of water a day - while Spain suffers its worst drought in 2100 years.
8 OCT | London, UK: Animal Rebellion launches a day of peaceful plant-based chaos across London. Hundreds of activists marched through the city, poured milk or paint onto shop floors that profit from animal cruelty, and occupied Westminster bridge. 50 supporters were arrested.
