Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle is a regional metropolitan area and the second-most-populous district of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie and it is the hub of the Lower Hunter region, which includes most parts of the cities of Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock, and Port Stephens Council. Newcastle is also known by its colloquial nickname, Newy.
Tree sitting is a form of environmentalist civil disobedience in which a protester sits in a tree, usually on a small platform built for the purpose, to protect it from being cut down. Supporters usually provide the tree sitters with food and other supplies.
The modern environmental direct action movement in the United Kingdom started in 1991 with the formation of the first UK "Earth First!" group for a protest at Dungeness nuclear power station. Within two years, there were fifty Earth First groups and activists linked with other parties in the road protest movement. There were large camps at Twyford Down and the M11 link road protest. By 1997, the Government had decided to reduce its road-building plans by two thirds.
The Camps for Climate Action are campaign gatherings that take place to draw attention to, and act as a base for direct action against, major carbon emitters, as well as to develop ways to create a zero-carbon society. Camps are run on broadly anarchist principles – free to attend, supported by donations and with input from everyone in the community for the day-to-day operation of the camp. Initiated in the UK, camps have taken place in England at Drax power station, Heathrow Airport, Kingsnorth power station in Kent, the City of London and The Royal Bank of Scotland Headquarters, near Edinburgh. During 2009 camps also took place in Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, Netherlands/Belgium, Scotland, Wales and Australia.
Coal is mined in every state of Australia. The largest black coal resources occur in Queensland and New South Wales. About 70% of coal mined in Australia is exported, mostly to eastern Asia, and of the balance most is used in electricity generation. In 2019-20 Australia exported 390 Mt of coal and was the world's largest exporter of metallurgical coal and second largest exporter of thermal coal. While only employing 50,000 mining jobs nationally coal provides a rich revenue stream for governments.
Rising Tide North America is a grassroots network of groups and individuals in North America organizing action against the root causes of climate change.
Plane Stupid is a UK-focused group of environmental protesters who state their aim as wanting to see an end to airport expansion for what it sees as "unnecessary and unsustainable" flights. It is a loose association of autonomous regional groups, and is funded by donations.
Extinction Rebellion is a UK-founded global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk of social and ecological collapse. Extinction Rebellion was established in Stroud in May 2018 by Gail Bradbrook, Simon Bramwell, Roger Hallam, Stuart Basden, along with six other co-founders from the campaign group Rising Up!
Julian Roger Hallam is an environmental activist who co-founded Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil, Insulate Britain, the cooperative federation organisation Radical Routes, and the political party Burning Pink. In April 2024, Hallam was given a suspended two year sentence for attempting to block Heathrow Airport with drones. In July 2024, Hallam was convicted of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance for organising protests to block the M25 motorway two years prior, for which he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment.
Extinction Rebellion (XR), a 2018 UK-founded environmental movement, has since spread to the rest of Europe, the United States, and other countries, forming an international "non-violent civil disobedience" movement through mass protest. XR carries out demonstrations to highlight governments' inaction on climate change. Since 2018, Extinction Rebellion has taken a variety of actions in Europe, the US, and elsewhere in the world, to urge political and economic forces to take action amid the climate crisis. Although, their non-violent disobedience protests are an effort to generate attention around environmental issues, XR activists have become known for civil disobedience and disruptive tactics.
Animal Rising is a British animal activist movement with the stated aim of compelling social change towards animal rights and a plant-based food system. They justify their actions with the impact of animal agriculture on climate change, species extinction and ecosystem breakdown.
Blockade IMARC refers to a protest against meetings of the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) on the 29, 30 and 31 of October 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. The Blockade IMARC Alliance also refers to a protest movement which has the same goals of opposing IMARC.
Pacific Climate Warriors, or 350 Pacific, is a grassroots movement for climate justice from the Pacific island states, which has been part of the global environmental organization 350.org since 2011.
Protests over responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have occurred around the world. There have been several protests against lockdowns and other restrictions introduced by the Commonwealth and state governments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia since 2020. Some joining protests have also been against vaccinations, while others have also subscribed to various conspiracy theories or misinformation about COVID-19. Protests have been held in several state capitals, with most occurring in including Sydney and Melbourne. While some protests were peaceful, others ended in clashes between protesters and police. Australian police have issued fines against protesters for breaching lockdown restrictions.
A series of protests by the group Insulate Britain involving traffic obstruction began on 13 September 2021. The group blockaded the M25 and other motorways in the United Kingdom, and roads in London and the Port of Dover.
The Parliament of New South Wales passed the Roads and Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 on 1 April 2022. The legislation amended the Roads Act 1993 and the Crimes Act 1900 to create new criminal penalties for protest activities. The incumbent Liberal-National Coalition Government introduced the Bill on 30 March 2022 to curtail the use of Non-violent direct action tactics by climate change protestors. The Parliament passed the Bill in the context of repeated disruptions to peak hour traffic on the Spit Bridge by Fireproof Australia activists and the use of Lock-on devices at Port Botany and in the Hunter Region by Blockade Australia. The NSW Greens and Animal Justice Party attempted to Filibuster the Bill in the New South Wales Legislative Council; however, the Government ultimately passed the legislation with the support of the NSW Labor Opposition.
Just Stop Oil is a British environmental activist group primarily focused on the issue of human-caused climate change. The group aims to convince the British government to commit to ending new fossil fuel licensing and production using civil resistance, nonviolent direct action, traffic obstruction, and vandalism. The group was founded in February 2022 and began protesting at English oil terminals in April 2022. The group has received criticism for its disruptive and often illegal methods of activism.
Fireproof Australia is a climate change activism group dedicated to safeguarding Australia's unique ecosystems, communities, and future generations from wildfires.
Deanna Maree "Violet" Coco, usually known as Violet CoCo, is an Australian climate activist who was briefly jailed on remand for blocking the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2022. She successfully appealed her 15-month jail sentence, with the convictions remaining, in March 2023, after the judge found that her conviction was based on false information from the police about an ambulance being blocked by her protest. She was instead put on a 12 month conditional release order.
The Last Generation is a group of climate change activists using forms of direct action which is mostly active in Germany, Italy and Poland. It describes itself as an "alliance" and was formed in 2021 from participants in the Hungerstreik der letzten Generation. The term was chosen because they considered themselves to be the last generation before tipping points in the earth's climate system would be reached. The Austria section of Last Generation announced in August 2024 that it would end its activities under that name.
