Hundreds of actions. Over 3,000 arrests. 180 prison sentences. They have thrown tomato soup on a Vincent van Gogh painting, interrupted major sporting events and covered Stonehenge with orange cornstarch. But now it seems to be coming to an end.
The climate activist group Just Stop Oil, which is behind a long series of sensational protest actions over the past three years, has finished infuriating with its stunts to focus attention on the climate. On Saturday, the British group, which was founded in 2022, will hold its last demonstration. It will take place in London, the capital of Great Britain.
- It is the end of soup on van Gogh paintings, cornstarch on Stonehenge and slow walking in the streets, the group said in a press release.
The often used orange vests are being shelved. The group's goal has been achieved, it says.
- Just Stop Oil's original demand to stop new oil and gas projects is now government policy. This makes us one of the most successful citizen-driven resistance campaigns in recent history, the press release says.
Since Labour won government power in July 2024, a stop has been put to new oil and gas extraction in the North Sea. However, the party has also distanced itself from Just Stop Oil. The group's tactics of blocking roads, interrupting sporting events and vandalizing works of art have angered both politicians and the general public.
A 2023 poll showed that 64 percent of respondents in the UK did not like Just Stop Oil.
Yet the group has continued with its controversial actions. It has proven to be a group whose members have been willing to face the wrath of their fellow citizens and sometimes end up in prison for speaking out about the climate crisis.
So why are they stopping now?
Graeme Hayes, a sociologist at Aston University in Birmingham, has a suggestion. He has spent several years following Just Stop Oil and its activities. For him, the end of the group's activities does not come as a surprise. It follows the same pattern as similar groups that have fallen before.
- It is in the DNA of these organizations that they do not continue in the long term, he tells The Guardian.
- This is not least because the people involved, even in the best of all worlds, tend to become exhausted. The ongoing wider social conflict they face is intense and draining.
Although Just Stop Oil will hold its final protest on Saturday, the group will continue in other ways.
- Just Stop Oil will continue to tell the truth in court, speak out on behalf of our political prisoners and speak out against Britain's oppressive protest laws, the group says.
According to the group, a broader focus is now needed on "corrupt political systems across the world". That is why a new strategy is underway.
It is calling on anyone who wants to "build a new resistance" to join the protest on Saturday.
According to Just Stop Oil, Saturday will be a "low-risk" protest. The aim is to avoid arrests and attract more people to take part in the fight against the system.
jel /ritzau/
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