For The Tribune we argue that to reignite the climate movement, organisers must respond to the most pressing issues today: imperialism, the cost of living, and the genocide in Gaza.
In 2019, the UK’s climate movement reached its peak: activists shut down central London, students nationwide walked out of classrooms and the country saw its biggest-ever environmental protest, with over 300,000 people taking to the streets. The UK parliament became the first in the world to declare a climate emergency.
Seven years on, the movement has been beaten back by state repression, economic collapse and the intensification of US and British imperialist aggression across the world. Yet the issue has not gone away: heatwaves, droughts and the construction of data centres across ‘tinderbox’ Britain have reasserted its relevance. Can climate activism renew itself to meet the moment?