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Scientist Rebellion Code

Mission statement

Scientist Rebellion aims to spark the non-violent global revolution needed to avert the destruction of the ecosystems that sustain life on Earth. The IPCC points out that "any further delay in concerted, global action, will miss a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future"1 The United Nations Environment Program has stated clearly that “the international community is falling far short of the Paris goals, with no credible pathway to 1.5°C in place”, and “only an urgent system-wide transformation can avoid climate disaster”.

A globalized economic system based on ruthless exploitation of nature and human beings, enabled by political systems captured by corporate interests operating in an opaque, undemocratic way, has brought natural life-sustaining systems to the brink of collapse. The science has been clear for decades. Yet, misinformation campaigns by the fossil fuel industry, together with an excessive conservatism in science communication, have made it difficult for people to realize the sheer magnitude of the problem.

Now it is time for scientists, and for scientific and academic institutions, to step up. If we are to survive and create a world in which we and future generations can thrive, we need an immediate emergency response proportional to the unprecedented crisis we are facing. This response is bound to affect every aspect of society, and can only be based on truly democratic decisions that will ensure the protection of life, with justice towards the people that have contributed the least to the crisis and are most affected. In this context, we see the role of Scientist Rebellion as three-fold:

  1. Lead by example. To achieve change of the magnitude required in the timescales needed, we need large parts of society to enter civil resistance4,5, and we believe scientists need to be on the frontlines. If those who know most about the crisis carry on as usual themselves, who is supposed to grasp the urgency of the situation? Scientists using their reputation and position to challenge the current norms and rules can help society to move faster towards social tipping points.
  2. Transform academic and scientific institutions into centres of resistance. The scientific community, comprised of individuals and institutions, is one of the pillars of society.5 Tipping such a pillar into civil resistance will put considerable pressure on policy makers as these depend on cooperation with public organizations.
  3. Provide legitimacy to other groups of non-violent civil resistance by supporting their forms of action as well as their demands.

Demands

  1. Science for people and planet. We demand that scientific and academic institutions immediately break ties with the most destructive sectors, such as the fossil fuel industry and the military-industrial complex, and instead refocus all their resources, both material and intellectual, to lead the societal changes needed. We also urge our colleagues to join the youth, most affected peoples and areas and the broad climate movement by engaging in non-violent direct action and stopping collaboration with the system.
  2. Degrowth. A just decarbonization and adaptation at a global scale in line with the science1-3 requires abandoning the paradigm of perpetual economic growth. This means a democratically planned contraction of some sectors of the economy, reducing excess resource and energy throughput while at the same time improving human well-being and social outcomes6.
  3. Democracy. To regain truly democratic processes where the collective will of society weighs more than the vested interests of a powerful few, we demand that the emergency response and a transition to a post-carbon economy be led by binding citizens' assemblies and peoples' assemblies, where ordinary people from all parts of society come together to deliberate on the issues and make decisions in an informed way.
  4. The good life. Beyond decarbonization, a liveable future requires moving away from extractivism - a mode of economic development that relies heavily on the extraction and exploitation of nature and people prioritizing short-term profits over everything else. Instead, we need to establish mechanisms to secure the “Sumak Kawsay” (Kichwa for "good living"), the satisfaction of human needs as a part of a social and natural environment.
  5. Science in solidarity. At a time where repression against peaceful activists is increasing around the world, we stand in solidarity with Earth defenders everywhere. We demand the unconditional release of all non-violent activists and the protection of democratic rights now and in the years to come.

Code of conduct

Scientist Rebellion aligns with the 10 principles and values of Extinction Rebellion, and we use these as the framework for organizing and acting.

We encourage scientists from all parts of the world to join SR. We try to schedule meetings keeping different time zones in mind, and provide translated materials where necessary. We aim to identify multiculturality in SR, actively uplifting the voices of historically marginalized groups. Every country and local group decides on the actions and strategy suitable for their context, in line with our non-hierarchical approach and the radical solidarity principle.

We aim to change the current systems based on oppression and dominance towards radically inclusive, benevolent, resilient and adaptable cultures, where discrimination has no place. We encourage our members to embrace discomfort and challenge their own world views by listening to all perspectives. To build a culture of trust, we strive for respectful, empathetic and authentic communication.

Radical solidarity and right to act

We believe in trying different tactics and empowering groups and individuals to take initiative. Local groups and affinity groups within SR are encouraged to design, plan and carry out their own actions. As long as actions are non-violent and align with our code of conduct, goals and demands, groups do not need permission by any structure within the movement to act, and actions carried out in this manner will be endorsed by SR.

Horizontality, decentralization and global collaboration

SR is a horizontal decentralized movement composed of multiple local chapters in different countries. Local chapters coordinate internationally for global campaigns. In addition, every chapter is free to organize their own local campaigns. As well as local chapters, SR also consists of international working groups where people in different geographical locations come together to work on specific tasks that concern the whole movement.

To structure our movement, we adopt the Self Organizing System method developed by Extinction Rebellion UK.

Embracing learning

We value reflecting and learning. This Code is the result of a lengthy process with contributions of scientists across the world and it might evolve as we learn and get feedback, especially from under-represented groups.

References

1 IPCC, 2023: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, H. Lee and J. Romero (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, pp. 35-115, doi: 10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647.2.

2 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report 2022: "The Closing Window - Climate crisis calls for rapid transformation of societies" (https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2022)

3 IPBES (2019): Global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. E. S. Brondizio, J. Settele, S. Díaz, and H. T. Ngo (editors). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany. 1148 pages. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3831673

4 Gardner et al. 2021, From Publications to Public Actions: The Role of Universities in Facilitating Academic Advocacy and Activism in the Climate and Ecological Emergency

5 Engler&Engler "This is an Uprising", ISBN 978-1568587332

5 Jason Hickel 2021, What does degrowth mean? A few points of clarification, Globalizations, 18:7, 1105-1111, doi: 10.1080/14747731.2020.1812222.