Will Climate Change Activists' Provocative Tactics Prove an Own Goal?
Sam Lichtenstein
Director of Analysis at RANE, Stratfor
MIN READNov 11, 2022 | 16:00 GMT
Police officers remove a chain Nov. 10, 2022, from the neck of an activist as climate activists block the entrance of the Milano Linate Prime fixed-base operator airport facility in Milan.
(PIERO CRUCIATTI/AFP via Getty Images)
Smashing chocolate cake on a wax figure. Throwing tomato soup at an iconic painting. These are just two of many similar recent incidents by which climate activists have generated major media coverage. Although not novel -- protesters have been engaging in similar sorts of so-called enviro-vandalism for years -- 2022 has seen a notable uptick, spurred largely by the formation of a U.K.-based activist group called Just Stop Oil. Despite their attention-grabbing actions, their message is muddled, the audience is ambiguous and the call to action is unclear....
