We stayed put with a government department because it was important to us

While most scientists were busy conducting their research, we decided to take a break from our day jobs and engage in more direct communication.

Together with more than 20 other people from Scientists for Extinction RebellionWe were assisted by Doctors for Extinction Rebellion in our efforts. Research papers to the UK government’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). We all glued ourselves to the building. Nine scientists were detained.

This type of action may seem extreme to a scientist, but these times are not common. As most UK citizens are aware, Now you can recognizeTo address the climate crisis, society must make drastic changes. The UK parliament declared 2019 a climate emergency – and in an emergency, one must take urgent action.

There are countless academic papers and reports that highlight the urgent need to decarbonize the global economy quickly if we want to prevent climate change so severe that it threatens our lives. Collapse of human civilisation. The International Energy Agency is a respected advisory body for countries around the globe. 2021: Warning that “if governments are serious about the climate crisis, there can be no new investments in oil, gas and coal, from now – from this year”.

Boris Johnson is the Prime Minister It was stated that “it is time for us to listen to the warnings of the scientists” on the climate emergency. Despite this, the UK government refuses to shut down the fossil fuel sector. It can be expanded.

The government recently published its Strategy for energy security. However, instead of focusing solely on home insulation and energy efficiency, we should be focusing on onshore wind and energy efficiency. Experts suggestThe strategy encourages the growth of oil-and-gas production.

These measures do not address the urgent issues of rising fuel costs or heavy imports from Russia of oil and coal. And as a self-proclaimed leader in global climate action, the UK’s doubling down on fossil fuels also sends a dangerous message to the rest of the world.

Continue reading:
Why the UK’s “treasured free market economy” will not achieve net zero

It is easy to ignore evidence by itself

The government chose oil and natural gas when faced with the choice of fossil fuels or a living planet. This is a difficult decision for scientists who have dedicated their lives researching. Many of us work in the belief that if we give scientific information to decision makers, they will use it for wise decisions in public interest.

Despite decades of increasingly dire warnings about the climate crisis, the global response to it is still impressive. Be naive. The reason is as simple as it is obvious: governments don’t respond to science on these matters, but to the corporate interests that invest so heavily in Political donations and lobbying.

Scientists must face a difficult truth that doesn’t come easily to those of us who are most comfortable working diligently on experiments and journal articles: evidence alone, even if expertly communicated, is very easily ignored by those that do not wish to hear it.

To make the transition away fossil fuels more sustainable, it will be much harder to ignore. This does not mean we should ignore the evidence or compromise our integrity. We must treat all scientific warnings about the climate crisis with seriousness.

It is hard to ignore.

History suggests that one of the most powerful ways to become hard to ignore – and one of the few options available to those who do not have deep pockets or the ear of politicians – may be through nonviolent civil disobedience, the refusal to obey certain laws in order to bring public and media attention to an unjust situation.

These actions have been responsible for many of the most significant social changes in 20th-century history, including universal suffrage and civil rights for peoples of colour as well as action on the Aids pandemic. Most people would agree that such actions are important. Morally justifiableIn a global emergency

The recent rise of environmental civil disobedience movements around world, led by Extinction Rebellion, Greta Thunberg-inspired youth strike, has had a huge impact on changing the global climate conversation. These movements have been connected to an Unprecedented growthPublic concern and awareness about climate crisis.

On Wednesday, scientists were arrested including an expert in energy policy, a specialist in air pollution, three ecologists, and two psychologists. They represented all levels of research, from junior researchers to professors. Some scientists work on the planetary crises itself, while others are concerned with how society responds to it. But, none of them took their actions lightly.

Our understanding of the planet’s peril obliges usWe must act to raise the alarm, even if this means putting our civil liberties at risk. We are not alone. There will be more than 6 Aprils. 1,200 scientists in 26 nationsParticipated in a global Scientist RebellionIt also included Pasting scientific papersShell’s UK headquarters.

Civil disobedience doesn’t always need a particular target to be effective, because the main objective is to Ring the alarmby generating media attention and wider public attention. Extinction Rebellion protests, among others, have targeted fossil fuel infrastructure and media and finance institutions as well as airports used by private aircrafts.

We went to BEIS because it is the government department responsible on climate change and should be leading the transition away fossil fuels. Instead, it is encouraging and facilitating new fossil fuel extractive activities.

Recent acts of law-breaking by scientists may seem radical, but the world’s most senior diplomat disagrees. On the release of the IPCC’s latest report, the UN Secretary General António Guterres : “Climate activists are sometimes depicted as dangerous radicals. But the truly dangerous radicals are the countries that are increasing the production of fossil fuels.”

He could not have said it more clearly: while we scientists may have been breaking the law, it is the government that’s placing us all in danger.