Extra-institutional climate activism has risen prominently in Europe since around 2015. Building and innovating on a much longer tradition of environmental activism, a new wave of mass protests hit a peak in 2019, notably with the global climate strikes of Fridays for Future, followed by a rise in disruptive activism and direct mitigation and community creation. The paper reviews and analyses the relevance of this new wave of contemporary, extra-institutional climate activism, focusing on activism rooted in social movements rather than advocacy by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or other actors. The paper argues that contemporary climate activism forms part of a broader social movement that also comprises advocacy and public participation.
The following three types of contemporary extra-institutional activism are identified and their impact on EU climate policy analysed:
- Mass Protests: large-scale demonstrations that began at international summits before moving on to target national and local levels and peaking in 2019, with many young people involved.
- Disruptive Activism: actions relying on disruptive means and innovative forms of civil disobedience to bring attention to the urgency of climate issues.
- Direct Mitigation and Community Creation: grassroots movements that take direct action to mitigate climate impacts, aiming to demonstrate different ways of life, build community resources, and thereby indirectly challenge existing governance systems.
The paper found that mass protest, disruptive activism and community creation have all bolstered and/or informed public participation and advocacy. Extra-institutional activism and advocacy have been mutually reinforcing in producing policy impact in the EU (and beyond). The rise of extra-institutional climate activism therefore provides an opportunity for advocacy to enhance impacts on EU governance and policy. The democratic, participatory and transformational impulse of contemporary climate activism in the EU can be nurtured and constructively engaged with by further developing meaningful spaces for participation at both the EU level and within member states. Moreover, support for activist networks and alliances with advocacy actors can further enhance this engagement.
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Key insights
- Emergence of a Transformative Climate Activism Wave: A new wave of climate activism has emerged in Europe and peaked in 2019, with significant effects on climate policy in the EU, most notably strongly contributing to the European Green Deal.
- Three Key Types of Activism: Scholarly analysis leads us to distinguish three main types of extra-institutional contemporary climate activism evolving in a protest cycle: (1) mass protests peaking in 2019, (2) disruptive activism, (3) direct mitigation action and community creation.
- Impact on EU policy: These three types of contemporary climate activism have all significantly contributed to shaping and advancing the EU’s climate agenda and policy decisions. This has mainly happened in indirect ways and via advocacy that built on extra-institutional activism.
- Synergy Between Climate Activism and Advocacy: Integration of extra-institutional activism with advocacy can help to shape EU decisions and lead to innovative and adaptive change in EU climate governance.
- Options to Amplify Activism's Impact on EU Climate Governance:
- Creating Meaningful Participatory Spaces at the EU-level: Developing inclusive, transparent and co-owned participatory mechanisms at the EU level that clearly inform decision-making and link with bottom-up processes.
- Fostering Participation within Member States: Supporting member states in developing participatory spaces along the same lines as at EU-level, but also safeguarding climate activism from restrictive measures, underpinned by EU guidance and minimum standards (Governance Regulation).
- Strengthening Activist Networks: Supporting the building of activist networks and activist-advocacy alliances through targeted and simplified funding and operational support.
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