Protests by Extinction Rebellion and other radical green groups “do work” in pressuring governments to act on climate change, the Environment Minister Lord Goldsmith has said.
The Conservative peer said that protesters reflected “the real anxiety” of many people that the planet was “heading towards the cliff” and that politicians were not doing enough in response.
Lord Goldsmith, Minister for the Pacific and International Environment, told BBC Radio 4’s The Week in Westminster that Boris Johnson deserved huge credit for his global leadership at the COP26 climate talks and on protecting the natural world.
He stressed that some extreme direct action was counter-productive, but that other protests had played a part in chivvying governments to do more.
Asked about action taken by groups such as Just Stop Oil, Insulate Britain and Extinction Rebellion, Lord Goldsmith said: “I think there’s a real anxiety. I see it all the time whenever I go to an international event – there are protests outside, and I speak to the people involved.
“There is a real sense of anxiety that we are heading towards the cliff and we’re not doing enough – and that’s true, we’re not.
“And that kind of pressure does work. It may be annoying, but it works. I’ve seen even as a minister, the increased pressure that we get from constituents onto their MPs and then back onto their ministers as a consequence of activities that some of these organisations get involved in.”
Extinction Rebellion has come under fire for blockading newspaper printing plants, smashing windows of media groups and gluing themselves to London Underground trains. Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil have halted traffic on motorways in recent weeks.
Asked if he weren’t a minister whether he would be tempted to back calls for a pardon for some protesters, he replied: “It depends. I don’t know what individually they’re doing time for, or what they were convicted on. But the principle is absolutely right.”
But Lord Goldsmith made it clear that he disagreed with the more extreme protests.
“I think you do have to pick your strategies very carefully. Stopping ambulances and things, it’s not going to win any friends,” he said.
“I think there are ways of protesting which will raise support and there are other ways which will alienate. And ultimately unless the mainstream people of this country and indeed around the world are on board, we haven’t got a hope.
“Ultimately, what will get us there is pressure and they are an important part of that, but they’ve got to get it right and they don’t always get it right.”
The peer, who is backing Liz Truss in the Tory leadership contest, also warned against moves to ditch Government plans to boost on-shore wind farm approvals.
Rishi Sunak has vowed to scrap the current proposals, which would allow communities to get discounted electricity bills in return for agreeing to turbines in their area. But Goldsmith defended the planning reforms as a key way to enhance green energy.
> Protests by Extinction Rebellion and other radical green groups “do work” in pressuring governments to act on climate change, the Environment Minister Lord Goldsmith has said.
Oh really? Aside from desperately trying to pretend you’re on their side and curry a few votes, what precisely have they achieved?
worstpersonyouknowmakesagreatpoint.jpg
You know I don’t think they do. I just filled my car this evening so oil hasn’t been stopped. There’s still a climate crisis so that hasn’t been stopped either. JSO and XR can protest all they want but it’s not going to achieve much.
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Protests by Extinction Rebellion and other radical green groups “do work” in pressuring governments to act on climate change, the Environment Minister Lord Goldsmith has said.
The Conservative peer said that protesters reflected “the real anxiety” of many people that the planet was “heading towards the cliff” and that politicians were not doing enough in response.
Lord Goldsmith, Minister for the Pacific and International Environment, told BBC Radio 4’s The Week in Westminster that Boris Johnson deserved huge credit for his global leadership at the COP26 climate talks and on protecting the natural world.
He stressed that some extreme direct action was counter-productive, but that other protests had played a part in chivvying governments to do more.
Asked about action taken by groups such as Just Stop Oil, Insulate Britain and Extinction Rebellion, Lord Goldsmith said: “I think there’s a real anxiety. I see it all the time whenever I go to an international event – there are protests outside, and I speak to the people involved.
“There is a real sense of anxiety that we are heading towards the cliff and we’re not doing enough – and that’s true, we’re not.
“And that kind of pressure does work. It may be annoying, but it works. I’ve seen even as a minister, the increased pressure that we get from constituents onto their MPs and then back onto their ministers as a consequence of activities that some of these organisations get involved in.”
Extinction Rebellion has come under fire for blockading newspaper printing plants, smashing windows of media groups and gluing themselves to London Underground trains. Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil have halted traffic on motorways in recent weeks.
Asked if he weren’t a minister whether he would be tempted to back calls for a pardon for some protesters, he replied: “It depends. I don’t know what individually they’re doing time for, or what they were convicted on. But the principle is absolutely right.”
But Lord Goldsmith made it clear that he disagreed with the more extreme protests.
“I think you do have to pick your strategies very carefully. Stopping ambulances and things, it’s not going to win any friends,” he said.
“I think there are ways of protesting which will raise support and there are other ways which will alienate. And ultimately unless the mainstream people of this country and indeed around the world are on board, we haven’t got a hope.
“Ultimately, what will get us there is pressure and they are an important part of that, but they’ve got to get it right and they don’t always get it right.”
The peer, who is backing Liz Truss in the Tory leadership contest, also warned against moves to ditch Government plans to boost on-shore wind farm approvals.
Rishi Sunak has vowed to scrap the current proposals, which would allow communities to get discounted electricity bills in return for agreeing to turbines in their area. But Goldsmith defended the planning reforms as a key way to enhance green energy.
> Protests by Extinction Rebellion and other radical green groups “do work” in pressuring governments to act on climate change, the Environment Minister Lord Goldsmith has said.
Oh really? Aside from desperately trying to pretend you’re on their side and curry a few votes, what precisely have they achieved?
worstpersonyouknowmakesagreatpoint.jpg
You know I don’t think they do. I just filled my car this evening so oil hasn’t been stopped. There’s still a climate crisis so that hasn’t been stopped either. JSO and XR can protest all they want but it’s not going to achieve much.