Newsletter October 2024
Have you had a nice spooky season this october? As frightening skeletons and horror clowns surely are, they could never be as scary as the fossil fuel industry. What gives us the creeps is how oil and gas are still being drilled for fossil profits while our livelihoods are being destroyed.
Does this give you the creeps as well? If so, support the resistance and we’ll do our best to scare the shit out of fossil fuel executives.
We are starting high up in Canada: On October 22, two Last Generation Canada supporters climbed Montreal’s Jacques Cartier Bridge, halting traffic for 7 hours to demand a National Emergency Management Agency and support for the Fossil Fuel Treaty. Olivier Huard and Jacob Pirro, along with police liaison Michèle Lavoie, were arrested.
Unlike a similar action in 2019, all three have faced harsh repression and denied bail. Michèle was later released with severe restrictions, while Olivier and Jacob remain jailed under harsh conditions, with Olivier beginning a hunger strike on October 26 to demand his release. Jacob and Olivier have become political prisoners for telling the truth.“Why must a young man give up his future, or another starve himself, just to be heard?” asks Olivier,47.”We know our government is incapable of saving us. That’s why we must stand up and take action alongside people like Jacob and Olivier”, says their colleague Gill.
In Poland, we launched local groups across five major Polish cities, mobilizing a record number of new supporters. One in six of our current contacts joined in just the last month.
We also announced a blockade of Wisłostrada in Warsaw, set to begin on November 25th. Recent court rulings recognized our street blockades as civil disobedience, hinting that future generations may view our actions as heroic.
However, prosecutors are seeking up to 8 years in prison for activists who dyed the Warsaw mermaid statue, citing damages of 360,000 PLN. Interestingly, the color was made from food dye and cornstarch. Just imagine if the prosecutors were this angry with fossil fuel executives instead of peaceful protesters?
Last month, Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland received sentences of two years and 20 months for throwing soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers—an action repeated shortly afterward on two paintings in the same series. In court, Just Stop Oil supporters challenged Shell’s anti-protest injunctions, which aim to suppress nonviolent resistance with government support. On November 2nd, we joined the Umbrella coalition as the “POLITICS IS BROKEN BLOC” (including Youth Demand, Assemble, and other groups) in a National Demonstration for Palestine, calling for systemic change. Meanwhile, 24 Just Stop Oil supporters remain in UK prisons.
In Denmark, we organized three more road blockades and disrupted the opening of the Danish parliament to demand urgent climate action. While our politicians have been enjoying leisurely holidays, the climate collapse has been escalating at an alarming rate.
And they still push projects like 15 new highways. We, the people, protest for a safe and fair future. Despite risks, including two participants being driven into during a protest, we continue our peaceful resistance. We stand in solidarity with campaigners worldwide facing severe repercussions, and we’ll keep pulling the Emergency Brake to protect lives and freedoms.“Accepting that anxiety and anger are part of our journey as climate protestors has softened my feelings, letting me finish this imperfect piece with a bit more peace”, says William who is taking part in the danish project.
For three weeks, hundreds of us gathered in Kassel, Germany, uniting in protest and community. Our focus: Kassel-Calden Airport, a local project costing millions in taxpayer money yet serving only a few flights. We turned it into a symbol of wasteful spending that harms our future. Our efforts gained traction, even prompting the Kassels’s Mayor to visit and discuss the issue publicly.
The major said: “‘The dogma of not being allowed to question the ongoing subsidisation of holiday flight operations is damaging the reputation of the entire business location, because anyone from the outside can clearly see the situation. People have been watching the airport and those who reflexively attest to its great future prospects with a certain amount of amusement for years now.”
Our protests sparked significant media attention and debate around the airport’s viability. One day we made a protest inside the airport building, even google noticing it, since it said that Kassel airport has more visitors ‘than usual’.
When the daunting darkness of fall is over us, some uplifting retrospection from Sweden might be in place. In April, we demanded protection for local wetlands and succeeded. So, we are moving next to ban peat mining—a destructive practice largely driven by Neova, a Finnish state-owned company.
In May, we blocked ditches meant to drain the Grimsås peat bog, delaying Neova’s mining plans by nearly a year. This summer, we returned, building a community-led nature reserve with 2 km of pathways, benches, and a bird-watching tower. If the state won’t protect our livelihoods, we need to do it ourselves! Our “Most Disobedient Nature Reserve” now protects the habitats of over 2,000 endangered species.
Come and visit the reserve if you’re ever around and don’t forget to pay us a visit as well!
Lastly, we’ll update you from the norwegian campaign: This October, we gathered 20 community members from across Norway to prepare for our goal: mobilizing 50 dedicated people for three weeks of sustained action in spring 2025.
We started with a two-day nonviolence training at a farm near Oslo, fostering trust and unity through shared experiences. Then, at a three-day strategy camp, we defined our core values—responsibility, courage, and community care—and developed a clear, sustainable plan to achieve our aims.
We left with renewed purpose, ready to grow our community of love and resistance and to challenge policymakers in the spring. We’ll keep them up and running – will you, too? Donate & support us now!