Last night I stumbled into a meeting with Roger Hallam, joint founder of XR, Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil. I’d been invited by the Georgia Elliot-Smith who was also speaking and it’s Georgia’s company, ElementFour, who have just completed our ESG strategy. In a breakout group Roger talked about the evolution of his work in civil disobedience and his business approach to attracting and inspiring others to take the step towards CD. Roger’s work in activism and his phd in studies in the science of mass mobilisation in the tradition of Martin Luther King and Gandhi has led to conclusion that we need 3000 people who prepared to be arrested in order to force the government to make real change. Roger was asking the business community to sense check his work and to help realise his plan. Real change means stopping the opening of more oil fields in the UK. It seems extraordinary when the number of rejections to planning applications for solar fields has increased, particularly in the constituencies of you know who.
So what to do. Zoe Cohen asks us to recalibrate our risk threshold, take direct action and let those you employ do the same without fear of losing their jobs. Donate time, donate money. To activate the 3000 requires both of these things. Lobby and create awareness by engaging with your industry. With our industry. They need our help.