British arrest rate for Climate Protests is the Highest in Europe

New fascist powers for the British and Norwegian police have seen an increased number of climate protest-related arrests. Climate activists protesting in Britain are three times more likely to be arrested than the global average.

That’s according to new research from the University of Bristol which has assessed the responses in 15 countries to climate protests and activism.

Of the nations included in Dr Oscar Berglund’s study, only one had a higher arrest rate than Great Britain. Australia saw one in five (20.1%) eco-protests leading to arrests, compared to 17.2% in the UK. The international average rate is 6.3%.

Other countries taking a tough stance on environmental protests include Norway at 14.5%, the USA at 10% and Turkey at 8%.

The findings come amid heightened concerns for the right to protest against a backdrop of legislative reforms that make arrest and criminal charges easier to uphold.

While the Britain, Australia and Norway have the highest arrest rates for climate protesters, they also have the highest proportion of climate protests. The report showed that, in Britain, almost 17 per cent of all protests are related to climate issues.

In Norway, it is 15% all protests and 13% in Australia.

Germany has almost as many climate protests as the others on the list at 13%. However, the arrest rate in Germany is much lower, at just 4.1%. France, too, seems more willing to permit peaceful protests, with just 3.2% of actions leading to arrests being made.

However, in the countries with the very lowest arrest rates, researchers also found an increased incidence of police violence. For example, Peru, which has an arrest rate of just 2%, had the highest incidence of police violence at 6.5%.

Also of concern are the number of killings linked to climate protests, tracked by Global Witness. Between 2012 and 2023, they logged 401 protest-related deaths in Brazil, by far the worst country for such incidents.

The Philippines (298), India (86) and Peru (58) also had concernedly high numbers of killings.

According to Global Witness, more than 7,000 climate protesters have been arrested in Britain since 2019.

A freedom of information request to London’s Metropolitan Police showed a record of 6,252 protest-linked arrests in London alone between April 2019 and March 2023.  The majority of these arrests were related to actions by environmental groups.

The group most likely to be arrested were Extinction Rebellion (XR), with 4,465 arrests by the Met in the three year period. Just Stop Oil members were arrested 1,137 times.

Almost 3,000 individual arrests were made over just two XR protests in 2019, first in April and then in October, 2024.

An Extinction Rebellion spokesperson told Euronews Green: People who are concerned about what’s happening with climate and nature should know that the best way to deal with anxiety and grief is to take action.

We design our actions so that everyone is able to participate – whether they feel comfortable with the risk of arrest or not. Two contentious laws in Britain have facilitated many of these arrests.

The Public Order Act 2023 and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2022 vastly expanded police powers to stop protests from taking place, and to arrest those who do engage in activism.

For example, ‘locking on’ – attaching oneself to objects or people – is a new offense under the Public Order Act, punishing offenders with up to 12 months in prison or a fine.

Other changes include increased powers of stop and search, harsher sentences for protest-related offenses and the ability to arrest individuals who are causing a ‘serious disruption.’

Jodie Beck, policy and campaigns officer at human rights group Liberty, criticized the draconian legislation changes, telling Euronews Green,

With new measures outlawing tactics like locking-on and slow walking, alongside police powers to restrict noisy protest, it is of no surprise that the report out this week has found climate activists in Britain are three times more likely to be arrested than in other nations.

This is a shameful reflection of the state of our democracy.

These changes are echoed in other countries around the world. Between 2019 and 2023, Australian territories brought in five new acts that increased police powers to stop protests.

France also introduced two significant laws: the Loi Anti-Casseurs in 2019 and the Loi Contre le Séparatisme in 2021, both of which expand punitive powers against protesters.

The University of Bristol report found that occurrences of climate protests and general environmental protests had increased across the study period (2012-2023). There was a sharp rise in climate protests particularly towards the end of the 2010’s.

The researchers concluded that the responses to such activities are markedly different between nations, and the approach to policing and criminalization of protest varies greatly too.

However, they note, the trend for criminalizing and repressing protest activities has become more apparent around the world.

Our concern is not with the police who are ultimately given orders by the Home Secretary and who enforce legislation written by parliament, noted Extinction Rebellion’s spokesperson.

We are more concerned with the governments who choose to take the authoritarian path of limiting the rights of people to protest, rather than taking the urgent action required to keep their populations safe from the breakdown of climate and nature.

Researchers, NGO’s and campaigners alike argue that rather than tackling the issues that are provoking protest action, governments are more focused on punishing dissent.

Governments should know that activists will not be deterred because what is at stake is more important than any price we pay for taking action, added XR’s spokesperson.

They should also be warned that when they do not respond positively to peaceful actions, history shows people turn to other methods and tactics.

Climate protesters behind the 2022 shutdown of a major British motorway have been sentenced to a collective 21 years in prison. Four activists who planned the protest were sentenced to four years behind bars on Thursday while one was given a record five years.

Euro News / ABC Flash Point News 2024.