FAQs

Q. What about NVDA?

We are an NVDA movement! That is a part of the soul of the movement, and nothing has changed. This strategy is about doing more NVDA, in different, unpredicatable and creative ways. The legal landscape has changed and our understanding of our tactics has grown. We should explore the diversity of direct action, get clever with our dilemmas, break down the soft/spicy binary and introduce contention to a wider audience.

Q. With 1.5° having been broken, and 2° probably to follow sooner rather than later the way things are going: How is the increased need for adaptation as well as mitigation reflected in the strategy?

Adaptation has been seen as a dirty word in Extinction Rebellion. It’s seen as an admission of defeat. Our theories of change have always held the ingredients to both prevent further damage and prepare for already unavoidable changes. It was built into us from the start. In a movement that has elements that sees Adaptation as moving away from NVDA, ask why? Why, in a world where climate change is forcing us to adapt right now, can’t we focus our NVDA on demanding justice for those in need of that adaptation who are also being let down by the system?

We believe that the answer lies in communities, people experience damage and change at that scale. They understand the need to adapt to a changing environment better, if anything than the need to reduce the use of CO2. This human scale of understanding can be a bridge between us and those around us and allow us to embed authentically into our communities, by fighting for and introducing NVDA and non-cooperation as a tool they can use, to fight for changes they already see the need for.

Q. The strategy acknowledges that people are struggling to engage with environmental action because of immediate economic concerns.

A survey from Data Analysis and Insights quoted in the strategy suggests that people are less likely to engage with XR when we take actions that aren't purely climate-related.

Acknowledging that, does the Strategy Team think it makes sense to be more explicit in the links between economic inequality and ecocide, in order to change the idea of what "climate" is, and make the issue more relatable to day-to-day struggles? Or to refuse to acknowledge connections with other issues in an attempt to meet people where they are?

The survey done by DAIC was from 2021, and we have a lot more data since then. It is important that we should find routes into messaging about interconnected issues in a way that brings a meaningful contribution to the conversation, rooted in our own identity.

The strategic Comms research we did as part of this iteration found that the public has a confused understanding of who Extinction Rebellion are and what we want. This correlates with lower levels of trust and belief that as a movement we are driven by good motives. Establishing a clear narrative that forefronts climate as a way to step into other topics in a way that is authentic, genuine and empowering, not tokenistic, is vital.

It is important that we understand the importance of the language we use. Often we use words that, however correct, can feel like jargon, marking XR out as a club that they are not a part of. We hope that M&M especially embraces the potential for XR to be a leader in the conversation of connecting climate to the struggles and injustices faced by people in their daily lives, and be a source of hope and empowerment about how we can change that together.

Q. A few years ago, Welsh independence movement YesCymru removed those it considered to be "leftists" so it could treat Welsh Independence as a politically neutral issue. YesCymru's membership and impact has since decreased substantially.

How can XRUK appeal to a wider spectrum of people without risking alienating those who do already support us? In XR Cymru, the movement is mostly operated by intersectional activists. How do we minimise the risk of losing them?

This is the essence of building community bases of power. We talk to each other. We do things like sharing the strategy with others in language we understand ourselves. We create space for ongoing conversation, especially within regions and nations). We dedicate the time to making it clear what we are doing and why is so vital for avoiding the sort of misunderstandings that can leave people feeling disconnected and disempowered.

XR has always been a broad church, and intended to welcome everyone and every part of everyone. Not everyone has always felt at home in our spaces, and that is something we must all reflect on. We need to respect our differences and celebrate our shared purpose.

Q. The promise of "We Quit" was to bring more moderate organisations to actions like The Big One, to show them the limits of moderate action, and to encourage them to join us in higher levels of resistance.

The legal environment has changed significantly over the past few years. But we, and other movements like JSO, DoJ, and the Palestine movement, have found ways round those limits, if not sometimes choosing to make the sacrifice of ignoring them altogether.

Few in XR advocate a return to public disruption in 2025. But have we given up on the idea of trying to harness the alliances we built to create any significantly large act of resistance at all? If so, when was that decision made?

We have not given up on significantly large acts of resistance., but we know that one specific tactic was getting diminishing returns in terms of numbers on the street, and the change it was capable of making. During the same time period, we’ve focused more on smaller single-issue actions, and got some tangible wins.

There are different approaches that are needed in order to be able to create acts of resistance at scale. One is practicing those skills of resistance within and alongside our communities. We mean practice. Practice reinforces the act and the better we can perform, the easier it is to offer those actions to others. Another approach involves coming together, as our own community, and bringing those skills we have honed together. Now we’re well practiced we can start to get creative and inspired about what actions we can take, what they might look

While we have discussed at length what actions this form of strategy might lead to, it’s not our mandate to generate them. We hope that Actions Circle will embrace the challenge of really scaling up what NVDA and resistance can look like in our changed climate. We know that there are already rebels out there doing this work that we would love to hear from.

Q. How does the strategy see a version of XR's Three Demands being met? And when?

This strategy is focused on creating the conditions required in order to truly meet our Three Demands, drawing on all the learning of the last six years. The level of change we are demanding, compared to a single issue campaign requires a number of elements to truly turn the tide. We have looked at our strengths with what is necessary to win, and that is where we have identified the crucial piece of cultural momentum. Building up participation in civil disobedience, non cooperation and NVDA across entirely new segments of society, so that then we can face the system as power meeting power.

It’s impossible to say when the demands will be met. The world is volatile at the moment, change is coming, and XR was designed to stand against the biggest most powerful system the world has known. However, we can say that these steps we take now will both build the world we want to see and create the power needed to disempower and destabilise the existing system.

Q. How does the strategy take into account the international nature of our mission for climate justice? Especially considering the (at least perceived) imbalance between "climate ambitious" countries like the UK, and countries like the USA/Russia?

Diaspora communities play a crucial role not only in achieving this but in doing so in a way that is meaningful, deeply rooted in identity and community. Climate justice has been a source of division, as it means different things to different people. However, if we can embrace these differences—understanding that different doesn't mean wrong - we can move beyond infighting and towards truly impactful work. Shifting from transactional solidarity to authentic justice work is a vital step forward on this path.

XRUK is renewing its ties with XR Global, gaining invaluable insights and fostering deeper connections with activists worldwide - their struggles, stories, and hopes.