What is Extinction Rebellion
Extinction Rebellion “is a socio-political movement which utilises nonviolent resistance to avert climate breakdown, halt biodiversity loss, and minimise the risk of human extinction and ecological collapse”
They have 3 demands:
1. Tell the Truth. Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.
[This was partially achieved on 1st May 2019, however Telling the Truth must be an ongoing process involving all government departments]
2. Act Now. Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
3. Beyond Politics. Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.
Do you back all 3 demands?
In short, yes.
There are 100s of groups, each with their own agendas all fighting under the same banner as Extinction Rebellion, even though there may be low level disagreements on policy.
It is our opinion that remaining united gives a much better chance of success than forming another group.
An inconvenient change
We understand that individual members of the public have been and will be greatly inconvenienced, for which we are truly apologetic.
We also understand the difficult position the government has been put in. In some corners of society, the changes needed to avert disaster will be unpopular, and therefore the government has to very cautious how it approaches this situation.
This is where we come in. Our profession is held in high regard by the general public, so profound backing from us would go a long way to increasing support for the cause. This in turn will give the government a strong mandate to act as we feel it must, and empower those MPs who do take this seriously to take centre stage.
What have we done so far?
On June 28th 2019: Newcastle Hospital Declared a Climate Emergency, since then so have Manchester, Gloucester, Nottinghamshire and Bristol.
On July 5th 2019: The Royal College of Emergency Medicine committed to Divest from Fossil Fuels, joining the BMA, RCGP and FPH. This was followed on October 17th 2019 by the Royal College of Physicians
On 20th September, the Royal College of GPs Declared a Climate Emergency
On 25th September, 30 doctors protested at the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) against governmental inaction. 4 of our number were arrested.
On 13th October, over 200 healthcare professionals marched through London to protest government inaction, and the 110 people extra people who die every day through the effects of air pollution, which was widely covered in the media. During the whole 2 week protest over 30 health professionals were arrested.
On January 16th 2020 we successfully campaigned to have an Oil and Gas conference barred from RCGP HQ in Euston.
On May 26th 2020: The healthy recovery campaign was signed on behalf of 40,000,000 health professionals worldwide.
On August 28th we were covered in the Independent after organising mass coverage of 20,000 petrol pumps with health warnings
How you can help?
Spread the word: Ideas
Change your email signature to the following or similar:
I am also a member of Doctors for Extinction Rebellion.
It is supported by The Lancet Editor Richard Horton, ex editor of the BMJ Richard Smith CBE and current editor Fiona Godlee
The group was recently covered in the Independent after organising mass coverage of 20,000 petrol pumps with health warnings
We are 1000 members and counting, but we need 10 times as many health professionals to create effective advocacy.
Visit our website doctorsforxr.com or email us at admin@doctorsforxr.com for more information
And consider signing this petition set up by Rosamund Kissi Debra calling for health warnings on fossil fuels as supported by Professor Sir Andy Haines and former regional director of public health for the SE of England Mike Gill in their recent BMJ article. Thanks for reading this extended footnote!
Put up a poster in your practice or hospital, e.g. this one on diet from the Public Health Institute.
Begin your next presentation at your practice or Grand Round with the 1 minute introduction video on this page.
Find us online
Connect with us on social media at Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Join the discussion: 1000+ have already joined our group in the UK, and local branches have formed in other countries: Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Australia, Canada and more.
To join contact us at admin@doctorsforXR.com from your organisational, NHS or doctors.org.uk email.
The editor of the Lancet, one of the most prestigious medical journals in the world, has come out officially asking all health professionals to engage in non-violent social protest to protect people from the climate & ecological breakdown.