Extinction Rebellion (XR) is a global environmental movement started in the United Kingdom. Its goal is to use peaceful protests and actions that break laws to encourage governments to act on climate change, protect nature, and prevent serious problems like the loss of species and the collapse of ecosystems. The group was formed in Stroud, England, in May 2018 by Gail Bradbrook, Simon Bramwell, Roger Hallam, Stuart Basden, and six others from the Rising Up! campaign group.

XR’s first major action was occupying the London Greenpeace offices on October 17, 2018. Later that month, the group publicly announced its mission outside the UK Parliament on October 31, 2018. Earlier in October, about 100 scientists supported the group’s efforts. In November 2018, protesters blocked five bridges over the River Thames in London. In April 2019, XR occupied five important places in central London: Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Circus, Marble Arch, Waterloo Bridge, and the area near Parliament Square. In August 2021, XR organized the "Impossible Rebellion," a series of peaceful protests in London.

XR was inspired by movements like Occupy, the suffragettes (women who fought for voting rights), and the civil rights movement. The group wants to show how urgent it is to stop "climate breakdown" and the largest loss of species in history. Some activists accept arrest, similar to a group called the Committee of 100 in 1961. XR uses a simple hourglass inside a circle, called the extinction symbol, to warn that time is running out for many species.

Some people criticize XR for possibly turning off others who might support their cause. The 2019 protests cost the Metropolitan Police an extra £7.5 million. Some activists have defended damaging property, such as breaking windows. In a 2019 poll of 3,482 British adults, 54% "strongly opposed" or "somewhat opposed" XR’s actions to disrupt roads and public transport to draw attention to their cause. Meanwhile, 36% "strongly supported" or "somewhat supported" these actions.

Stated aims and principles

Extinction Rebellion's website, when the group began in the UK, listed these goals:

• The government must be honest by saying there is a climate and environmental crisis and work with other groups to explain why changes are needed quickly.
• The government must take immediate action to stop the loss of plant and animal life and cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2025.
• The government must create a group of citizens to make decisions about climate and environmental justice.

When the movement started in the United States, an additional goal was added: "We want a fair transition that helps the most vulnerable people and protects the rights of Indigenous communities. We want to create ways to fix past harm caused by environmental issues, led by Black, Indigenous, and people of color and poor communities. We want to give ecosystems the right to live and grow forever. We want to fix the damage from ongoing harm to the environment to stop the loss of human and animal life. This will help everyone live on a planet that is safe and fair."

Organisation

Extinction Rebellion is a movement made up of many local groups that work together but operate independently. These groups are usually based in specific areas like a city or neighborhood. They also form smaller groups called affinity groups to work on shared goals.

Anyone who supports Extinction Rebellion’s three main goals and follows its ten rules, including not using violence, can act in the name of the movement.

The Economist noted that the group uses a system called holacracy to help it function better despite facing strong opposition from the government.

Extinction Rebellion has a structure where local groups make their own decisions as long as they follow the movement’s principles and values.

A group of doctors called "Doctors for Extinction Rebellion" supports the movement’s actions and organizes their own demonstrations. They warn about how climate change affects human health and are active in the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

A youth group called XR Youth was formed by July 2019. Unlike the main Extinction Rebellion group, XR Youth focuses on issues affecting the Global South and Indigenous peoples, and it emphasizes climate justice. By October 2019, there were 55 XR Youth groups in the UK and 25 in other countries. All members of XR Youth were born after 1990, with an average age of 16, and some were as young as 10.

Extinction Rebellion’s Christian group, Christian Climate Action, believes humans are responsible for caring for the Earth. This group has taken part in protests and campaigns to raise awareness about climate change. It has asked UK churches to help reduce poverty and inequality caused by climate change and has written to Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, about the Church of England’s lack of support for the movement.

Christian Climate Action has more than 1,000 members, with about 150 participating in direct actions. It is connected to Camino to Cop26, a group led by women who walked 500 miles to the COP26 conference in Glasgow to protest leaders’ slow response to climate change. Other groups, such as Marcha a Glasgow, the Pilgrimage for Cop26, and the Young Christian Climate Network, also joined the walk. These groups described the journey as a pilgrimage.

History

Extinction Rebellion began in the United Kingdom during a meeting in April 2018. Activists Gail Bradbrook, Roger Hallam, and Simon Bramwell were among those present, and they created several goals for the group. About 100 academics signed a letter supporting the group in October 2018. On 31 October 2018, Hallam, Bradbrook, Bramwell, and other activists from the group Rising Up! officially launched Extinction Rebellion.

The group has drawn inspiration from past grassroots movements, such as Occupy, Gandhi’s Satyagraha, the suffragettes, Gene Sharp, Martin Luther King Jr., and others in the civil rights movement. References are also made to Saul Alinsky’s book Rules for Radicals (1972), which discusses how to organize during emergencies and balance disruption with creativity. Roger Hallam stated that the strategy of public disruption is heavily influenced by Alinsky’s methods.

Some activists in the movement accept arrest, similar to the tactics used by the Committee of 100 in 1961. A second letter of support, signed by another 100 academics, was published on 9 December 2018.

Since 2018, Extinction Rebellion has taken various actions in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and other countries. On 5 October 2021, the group blocked streets in Zurich, Switzerland, to demand government action on climate change. On 4 November 2021, demonstrators blocked the Schlumberger Gould Research Centre in Cambridge, England, to oppose fossil fuel research. This protest coincided with the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

In April 2022, activists blocked key bridges in London, including two Olympic athletes. Protesters were arrested after climbing oil tankers, anchoring themselves to structures, or blocking roads at oil depots.

In June 2024, Extinction Rebellion activists interrupted the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship in Connecticut by running onto a golf course and spraying a green with orange powder. In September 2024, activists chained themselves to the gates of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, demanding the museum end its ties with the ING bank. Later that month, activists covered the Finnish Parliament House in red paint, which may be difficult to remove without damaging the building.

Extinction Rebellion faces potential classification as a criminal organization due to a Citizens’ Initiative that received over 70,000 signatures in one day. In response, some members made internal posts suggesting violence and government collapse, though these posts were later condemned by the organization. The group claims it has worked with police to identify those responsible.

In Britain in 2021, some campaigners believed Extinction Rebellion was no longer effective in creating change. As a result, new groups formed to use mass disruption and arrests to push for specific demands. Insulate Britain was created to urge the government to improve home insulation by 2030, reducing energy use and emissions. Just Stop Oil, starting in 2022, protested against fossil fuels. Both groups blocked traffic and sought arrests to draw attention to their causes.

Arrest as a tactic

Extinction Rebellion uses mass arrests as a strategy to draw attention to their cause by using police resources and causing disruptions. The group’s founders studied the actions of past movements, such as the suffragettes, Indian salt marchers, civil rights activists, and Polish and East German democracy supporters, who also used similar tactics. Co-founder Roger Hallam stated that traditional methods like letters, emails, and marches are not effective. He said that about 400 people need to be arrested, and approximately 2,000 to 3,000 arrests are needed to create significant impact.

In April 2024, Hallam received a suspended two-year prison sentence for trying to block Heathrow Airport with drones. In July 2024, he was found guilty of planning to disrupt traffic on the M25 motorway and was sentenced to five years in prison.

In June and July 2019, some Extinction Rebellion supporters arrested in April 2019 faced legal action in the UK. On June 25, a 68-year-old protester was convicted of violating a law that allows police to remove protests from specific areas. He received a conditional discharge, which means no prison time. On April 12, over 30 protesters appeared in court, each charged with not following orders from a senior police officer during protests. Most pleaded guilty and received conditional discharges. Trials for those who did not plead guilty were scheduled for September and October.

During London’s April 2019 protests, 1,130 arrests were made. In October 2019, during a two-week event called “International Rebellion,” 1,832 arrests occurred. This included Ellie Chowns, a Green Party member of the European Parliament; Jonathan Bartley, a Green Party co-leader and council leader; and Zack Polanski, who later became the Green Party leader.

On November 16, 2023, a jury found nine Extinction Rebellion members not guilty of damaging HSBC’s London headquarters with £500,000 worth of damage during a climate protest two years earlier. The defendants did not deny the facts of the case. The jury reached its decision after two hours of discussion.

Support and funding

During the "International Rebellion," which began on April 15, 2019, support came from many sources. These included a speech by actress Emma Thompson, a planned visit by school strike leader Greta Thunberg, and statements from former NASA scientist James Hansen and linguist Noam Chomsky.

A study conducted during the first two days of the mid-April London occupation, which surveyed 1,539 participants, found that 46% of people supported the rebellion. However, a later poll of 3,482 British adults in October 2019 showed that 54% strongly or somewhat opposed actions aimed at "shutting down London." The protests on April 17 blocked public transportation, such as buses, causing inconvenience for travelers.

In May 2019, Roger Hallam and eight others ran for the European Parliament in London and the South West England constituencies as Climate Emergency Independents. Together, they received 7,416 votes out of 3,917,854 total votes cast in those areas.

In June 2019, 1,000 healthcare professionals in the UK and other countries, including professors and leaders in public health, called for non-violent civil disobedience in response to government policies they said were not good enough to address the ecological crisis. They urged politicians and the media to acknowledge the crisis and take action. They also supported the school strike movement and Extinction Rebellion.

In July 2019, Trevor Neilson, Rory Kennedy, and Aileen Getty launched the Climate Emergency Fund (CEF), inspired by Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion protesters in the UK. The fund donated nearly half a million pounds to Extinction Rebellion groups in New York City and Los Angeles and to school strike groups in the United States. In September 2019, Getty added $600,000 (£487,000) to the fund.

Christopher Hohn donated £50,000 to Extinction Rebellion. The charity he co-founded, The Children's Investment Fund Foundation (TCI), gave more than £150,000. As of January 2022, TCI was the largest individual donor to Extinction Rebellion. In 2019, TCI stated that none of its funds were used for civil disobedience.

In October 2019, the Financial Times reported that Extinction Rebellion had raised just over £2.5 million in the previous 12 months.

Michael Stipe, a musician, supported Extinction Rebellion. All profits from his debut solo single, "Your Capricious Soul," went to the group.

In February 2020, the environmental organization Mobilize Earth released a film series called "Guardians of Life," which focused on urgent global issues. Funds from the project were given to Amazon Watch and Extinction Rebellion.

In September 2021, YouGov surveyed 3,296 British adults about Extinction Rebellion. Of those surveyed, 19% were "fairly positive" or "very positive," and 49% were "very negative" or "fairly negative."

The Extinction Rebellion UK website lists its terms of service under "Extinction Rebellion UK (Compassionate Revolution Ltd)." Compassionate Revolution Ltd is a subsidiary of Climate Emergency Action Limited, which supports Extinction Rebellion UK.

In February 2026, the New York Times reported that FBI agents had visited Extinction Rebellion activists in the United States as part of a federal investigation into climate change activism.

Criticism

According to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, the time frame proposed by Extinction Rebellion (XR) for achieving net zero emissions is "an ambition that technically, economically and politically has absolutely no chance of being fulfilled." Governments have not taken enough action in the past, making it very difficult to reach net zero in such a short time. One way to meet the 2025 target would involve ending air travel and removing 38 million petrol and diesel cars from roads. It would also require disconnecting 26 million gas boilers within six years. The Rapid Transition Alliance and the Centre for Alternative Technology are more optimistic about the feasibility of this goal.

Former spokesperson Zion Lights later criticized XR, saying the group often focuses on symbolic or large-scale changes rather than practical steps to reduce emissions. She argued that XR sometimes ignores discussions about affordable, clean energy unless they are tied to broader systemic changes.

XR’s third demand, which calls for a Citizens' Assembly on climate and ecological justice, has been described as a move to "go beyond politics." This idea has faced criticism from socialists, including those who have participated in XR actions. In April 2019, Natasha Josette, an anti-racist activist and member of Labour for a Green New Deal, wrote that XR does not fully address how the climate crisis is linked to neoliberal capitalism and systems of exploitation that harm marginalized communities.

Amardeep Dhillon, also writing for The Independent, argued that XR’s focus on net zero emissions overlooks the environmental harm caused by extractive industries. He suggested that XR’s position could allow governments and corporations to shift the burden of climate damage onto poor and Indigenous communities in the global South.

In October 2019, Erica Eisen, an XR participant, wrote that the movement’s "beyond politics" slogan is tied not only to the Citizens' Assembly demand but also to avoiding stances on issues beyond the environment. She argued that XR’s refusal to take a clear anti-capitalist position weakens its credibility and may allow far-right groups to use environmentalist ideas for their own goals. She cited examples such as the Christchurch mosque shootings and the 2019 El Paso shooting, where perpetrators mentioned environmental concerns in their manifestos.

Nathalie Olah, writing for i-D in December 2019, compared XR to earlier protest movements like the events of May 68 in France and the Occupy movement. She noted that unclear demands limited the political impact of those movements and argued that climate change and class issues are deeply connected because a small group of people causes most emissions, while the poorest communities face the worst effects.

Ben Smoke, one of the Stansted 15, criticized XR’s use of mass arrests in The Guardian. He said that XR’s casual attitude toward imprisonment could harm Black, Asian, and minority ethnic people in the UK, who often face harsher treatment in the justice system. He also argued that supporting court cases could take resources away from efforts to help people most affected by climate change. Smoke suggested using tactics that are accessible to all, not just those who can afford arrest. He warned that mass arrests might lead to stricter anti-protest laws instead of encouraging government action on climate change.

An open letter from Wretched of the Earth, an environmental group focused on Black, Brown, and Indigenous voices, highlighted that XR’s mass arrest tactics ignore the racial inequalities in the justice system. Some XR members have referenced Martin Luther King Jr., noting that his call for civil disobedience was open to all, regardless of race.

When XR expanded to the US, a fourth demand was added: a "just transition" that prioritizes vulnerable groups and Indigenous communities, including reparations for past environmental harm.

Karen Bell, a senior lecturer in human geography and environmental justice, wrote in The Guardian that XR is not strongly connected to working-class communities, which is a problem because building support for environmental change requires contributions from all groups. Labour Party member Lisa Nandy criticized XR for focusing on lifestyles typical of middle-class city dwellers rather than addressing broader issues.

George Monbiot, writing in The Guardian, said XR is too white and middle-class. A protest in Canning Town, where activists disrupted a train and clashed with working-class commuters, drew attention to class issues and led to an apology from an XR representative.

A report titled "Extremism Rebellion" by Policy Exchange, a UK-based think tank, labeled XR an extremist group seeking to undermine democracy and the rule of law. The report influenced the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. Policy Exchange received $30,000 from ExxonMobil in 2017 to target XR.

In 2019, the South East Counter Terrorism Unit listed XR alongside neo-Nazi and Islamist groups in a guide about extremism. They later removed XR from the list, calling it an error. Priti Patel, who supported the policing bill, defended the decision to label XR as a threat.

Media coverage

A study of the October 2019 "International Rebellion" shows that the movement was mentioned more than 70,000 times in online media reports. The UK had 43.5% of the online reports, followed by Germany with 15.2%, Australia with 14.6%, and the US with 12.1%.

In 2021, a documentary called Rebellion was released on UK Netflix and other streaming platforms worldwide. The film shows what happens behind the scenes of XR and the people who started it.

Dávid Szőke and Sándor Kiss wrote in Film International that they criticized the short films Extinction (2019) and Guardians of Life (2020). They said, "Film is one of the most important ways to help make changes in the world. While Extinction and Guardians of Life talk about 'nonviolent open rebellion' and the need to act to protect the natural world, the difference between their goals and the ways they try to influence people about climate issues shows opposite results. Even though these films claim to support environmental causes, the presence of famous actors like Emma Thompson and Joaquin Phoenix draws attention to their fame instead of the environmental solutions they should highlight. Because of this, these films can be seen as shiny covers that hide the strong environmental actions of XR activists under a more friendly and media-friendly appearance."