Photo credit: XR Washington DC
This issue: Amazon Mega-Fires | AntiCOP | Action Round-Up
Dear Rebel,
This year has seen pivotal elections worldwide, each leaving its mark on our shared future. On November 5th, the U.S., one of the world’s most powerful nations, voted to bring a climate criminal, Donald Trump, back to power. The implications for the planet and humanity's future are devastating. It was a moment to grieve.
While Trump poses an existential threat, his opponents, Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, also skyrocketed the fossil fuel industry and represent a system that has long exploited the Global South and endangered future generations. All operate within an imperialist, hyper-capitalist power structure built on exploited land and the legacies of colonial violence. Together, they push our world further toward the abyss of ecological and social collapse.
In this critical moment, our reminder is that democracy is not confined to the ballot box. True democracy means active participation every day. We can no longer accept elite-driven, symbolic candidates. Instead, we stand for everyday people to stand up and make their communities’ voices heard. We call for a “House of the People”—Citizens’ Assemblies led by everyday people, ensuring countries are guided by the majority’s will rather than powerful interests.
Common sense for the 21st century will become clear when the charade of circus and celebrity is removed, and the people are empowered. Immediate action will be taken on rampant inequality, climate destruction, and the ongoing atrocities in places like Palestine, Sudan and the Congo.
Until such a model exists, we must resist their imperial regimes of domination. This means being relentless—organizing, occupying, blocking, boycotting, and holding power to account for actions that lead to suffering and environmental devastation. That means disrupting greenwashing parades like this year’s fossil-funded COP and not stopping until the people are truly in charge. Imagine a global assembly, led by the majority world. It’s possible and we are building it.
The increasing wave of repression against environmental defenders is making it harder and harder to tell the truth. Dozens of our rebels are now in prison, some for up to 5 years. Yet it's with their sacrifice and future generations in our hearts that we can find the softness and strength to resist anew. As the Americans say, “Onward!”.
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Contents
- Action Highlights: Amazon Mega-fires, Insure Our Survival, AntiCOP 2024
- Action Roundup: Defending Education and Pride in Argentina, Fighting Big Oil in the Congo, Kicking Scottish Gas Out
Action Highlights
Fight for the Amazon - Mega Fires
September - ongoing | La Paz, Bolivia
Rebels are joined by thousands of fellow planet defenders as they march to demand an end to the extractivism that is burning Bolivia. Photo credit: XR Bolivia
Once again, rebels in Bolivia have taken to the streets to demand urgent action from the State in response to the ecological crisis. The fires of late September 2024 destroyed over 10 million hectares, shattering all previous records, with the eastern region of Santa Cruz being the hardest hit.
These fires poison the air, harm communities, destroy essential ecosystems, and disrupt the hydrological cycle. They also threaten the environmental services that sustain us all. The land cries out for help, but the response from those in power is painfully slow, filled with excuses and empty promises.
Since August, XR Bolivia, in coordination with movements like Lucha X La Amazonía (Fight for the Amazon), has organised numerous actions in La Paz, the seat of government. Rebels have sent letters to key authorities, held public forums, and staged direct actions alongside more than a thousand fellow planet-defenders. Participants have suffered severe repression by the police and security personnel who have attacked the nonviolent protesters with tear gas, pellets, and dynamite sticks.
The coalition calls for an end to the expansion of industrial agriculture and livestock, the main drivers of deforestation in the Bolivian Amazon. Thanks to these efforts, a national call for action has spread, with even medium-sized municipalities joining the demand for an alternative to extractivism.
XR Latin America has launched a regional fire campaign in the fight against the extractivism that is burning the Amazon and decimating communities. Photo Credit: Extinction Rebellion Latinoamérica AbyaYala
Although the fires have been partially contained by the rainy season and the heroic efforts of volunteer firefighters, the long-term consequences are incalculable. The destruction affects not only ecosystems but also food security, particularly for indigenous communities that depend on the Amazon.
XR Bolivia’s latest action supported the hunger strike of a member of Lucha X La Amazonía, who spent seven days outside the Ministry of Defence demanding immediate action to stop the fires in the Madidi Protected Area, which has lost more than 30,000 hectares in just four months.
XR Latin America has also launched a regional fire campaign. In addition to Bolivia, the region has seen 85 million hectares burned this year alone – what is now being called a “mega colossal series of wildfires” caused by the climate crisis.
For every hectare burned, irreparable damage is done. Yet, official answers come too late. Rebels in Bolivia and throughout Latin America are speaking out loud and clear: “We are fed up. We demand immediate action. We cannot allow another year of destruction, of risking our forests and our future. The time to act is now. No more empty promises. The Earth is crying, and we will not stay silent.”
Insure Our Survival
October 18th | London
Photo: Gareth Morris / Extinction Rebellion
XRUK told insurers that the game is up. It’s time to stop insuring new fossil fuel projects and choose people over profit. Rebels sailed a classic pink boat through the City of London, occupied world-famous buildings, and staged a climate crime scene on corporate doorsteps. Every day, they told a story about the terrible impact that insurers are having on the lives of ordinary people here and across the world.
The Global Meeting for Climate and Life: AntiCOP 2024
November 4-9th | AntiCOP 2024, Oaxaca, Mexico
Photo Credit: Asamblea Istmo (Indigenous Organizations for Human Rights in Oaxaca Oidho)
Rebels from XR Ecuador and XR Medellin gathered in Oaxaca with over 250 people from the five continents to demand the defence of nature. AntiCOP is not just a response to official COPs, but a space of resistance and collective construction to change the course of a world devastated by extractivism and social injustice.
The gathering brought together representatives from the following indigenous peoples and territories: Waorani people, Yaqui tribe, Purepecha people, Zapotec people, Chatino, Mixteco, Ngiwa, Chontales, Wayuu, Ikots, Sami, and K'Ana nation.
Rebels and representatives of indigenous peoples from the five continents march for climate justice at AntiCOP 2024 in Mexico. Photo Credit: XR Ecuador
Extinction Rebellion was the convening organisation, bringing together diverse groups for workshops on mechanisms and financing of dispossession, monetization and commodification of life, migration and forced displacement, the global water crisis, and greenhouse gases and toxic agro-chemicals. A road map, calendar and action program was adopted by the participating organisations to confront the climate crisis and achieve climate justice.
“Through the mirrors of our resistance, we reflect the shared struggles of the Global South: communities, peoples, and movements raising their voices against the climate crisis, militarization, and the commodification of life,” reads a statement drafted by AntiCOP rebels and allies. “From indigenous struggles to climate justice mobilizations, our common history is forged in adversity. United and organised, we will build a world where the life and dignity of all peoples are prioritised.”
Rebels protest inaction at COP16 in Cali, Colombia. Photo Credit: XR Colombia
Meanwhile, during COP16 in Cali, Colombia, rebels from XR Ecuador, XR Bogota and XR Medellin raised their voices, taking part in the Transforming Economies Social Forum, alongside representatives from over 30 countries, to coordinate collective actions for climate justice. They spoke out against the extinction of thousands of species and the blatant indifference of governments and institutions.
In every space, they demanded real solutions and accountability, challenging the hollow promises of those in power and standing in solidarity with communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
Action Round Up
October 2nd | Multiple cities, Argentina: Photo Credit: Emanuel Vidal courtesy of Rebelión Científica Argentina
Defending free, public education is now a critical task for socio-environmental movements. In Argentina, the ultra-capitalist government of Milei is slashing funding for science and free public education, while investing in warplanes and tools for repression. This attack on knowledge and education is no coincidence; it’s happening under a deeply extractivist regime that denies both the climate crisis and the science that exposes it. Rebels have joined over a million people mobilising in response, demanding change. “We need professionals committed to Nature and communities,” says a rebel from Scientist Rebellion Argentina. “We stand for science, free education, and an anti-extractivist future. The fight for knowledge is the fight for the planet.”
October 31st | Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo: Photo Credit: Notre Terre sans Pétrole
Rebels from XR University of Goma and more than 120 NGOs launched the campaign "Our Earth without Oil" to welcome the decision on October 11 to partially cancel the tendering of 27 oil blocks and 3 gas blocks. The campaign also serves to reaffirm opposition to any oil and gas extraction in the DRC, which would have disastrous consequences for the lives of the Congolese people, food security, biodiversity conservation, land rights, and the rural fishing economy, as well as the fight against climate change. The launch was a highlight with an incredible concert in Goma, bringing together more than 400 environmental enthusiasts.
November 2nd | Buenos Aires, Argentina: Photo Credit: Extinction Rebellion Latinoamérica AbyaYala
Rebels in Argentina joined the 33rd Pride March to celebrate diversity, inclusion and love in all its forms and to protest against President Milei’s policies that are harmful to human rights and to the rights of nature. As we fight for LGBTIQNBA+ rights, rebels raise their voices for the future of the planet because there will be no place for our community on a dead planet. One rebel explained, “Pride is defending the rights of all oppressed bodies and peoples. That is why our pride is anti-extractivist, anti-Zionist, anti-racist, anti-terricide”. We call to unite all struggles, which are against the same system that commodifies, oppresses and criminalises. The time is now to defend all life.
November 7th | Parliament, Scotland: Photo Credit: XR Scotland
In a powerful act of resistance, Extinction Rebellion activists staged a "lock-on" protest outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. Their aim? To stop the proposed gas power station in Peterhead, a project that would deepen Scotland's reliance on fossil fuels. By physically securing themselves in place, these activists sent a clear message: Scotland must break free from the grip of fossil fuels and reject the false promises of carbon capture.
November 11th | Kampala, Uganda: Photo Credit: @Studenteacop
As COP29 begins in Baku, dozens of anti-EACOP activists were arrested by the police as they nonviolently marched to Parliament demanding an end to the construction of the deadly East African Crude Oil Pipeline and that Total Energies end investing in any new oil infrastructure. Amidst the police repression, Students against EACOP, who led the march, affirmed that “non-violent civil disobedience remains the only way to put sustainable pressure against corporations and the government, and that the right to peaceful protest is constitutional”.
Thank you
Thank you for reading, rebel. If you have any questions or feedback, we want to hear from you. Get in touch at [email protected].
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