Extinction Rebellion Activists Blockade Shell HQ in Protest Over Climate Crisis

January 16, 2020

Members of the Extinction Rebellion once again demonstrated their privilege on Thursday during a 13-hour long protest in front of the Shell headquarters in Aberdeen, Scotland. Some 30 members of the radical eco-left group blocked the building’s entrances in order to disrupt the oil giant’s ongoing business. Fortunately, these types of protest are rarely successful and only emphasize the hypocritical positions adopted by environmental extremists.

“The more successful fossil fuel companies like Shell are, the worse our future is going to be. We have to stop them carrying on as if their product does no harm.”

While shutting down large fossil fuel companies would lower carbon emissions, the Extinction Rebellion willfully ignores the harm these actions would have on the employees and customers whose livelihoods directly depend on companies like shell. Groups like the Extinction Rebellion treat climate change and environmental reform as a zero-sum game, instead of a dynamic discussion on how to improve the lives of future generations.

The best way to create a better future for everyone is to work with energy companies to create realistic, viable solutions to climate change.

As a Shell spokesman said, “what will really accelerate change is effective policy, investment in technology innovation and deployment, and changing customer behavior…As we move to a lower-carbon future, we are committed to playing our part, by addressing our own emissions and helping customers to reduce theirs – because we all have a role to play.”

The Extinction Rebellion and their apocalyptic point of view provides neither solutions for climate change nor encourages the constructive dialogue necessary to solve its consequences. Instead, they choose to spend their days disrupting businesses while ordinary people around the world work hard to put food on the table.

We highlight Extinction Rebellion and their radical tactics here.