Heat, storms, floods, fires. The climate crisis is here to stay, unfortunately, and climate activists do everything they can to make people not forget about it. In this article, we will focus on various protests and activities that caused a lot of controversy during the summer.

Many of the most spectacular actions by climate activists targeted affluent Europeans. More exactly: the lifestyles they lead.

In July, a group of activists protested in Ibiza, Spain. This is a popular holiday destination for rich people. Activists from the Futuro Vegetal group spray-painted a $300 million yacht belonging to Walmart chain heiress Nancy Walton Laurie. The activists held a banner with the slogan: "You consume - others suffer".

"We do not point the finger at the people but at their lifestyle, the injustice it represents," Karen Killeen, an Extinction Rebellion activist who participated in the Ibiza protests, told the Associated Press.

She and other activists deem it absurd that wealthy tourists can take a boat jest to get a pizza, thereby emitting unnecessary carbon dioxide. "In a climate emergency, it’s an atrocity," Killeen told the AP

In May, a group of activists disrupted Europe's largest private jet show. Protesters from various organisations chained themselves to planes, halting traffic at Geneva airport in Switzerland.

In Germany, activist group Letzte Generation (English: Last Generation) spray-painted a private jet on the North Sea island of Sylt. In Spain, activists plugged holes in golf courses to protest against the waste of water during hot and dry spells.

In the US in July, Abigail Disney, the brand-niece of Walt Disney, was arrested at East Hampton Town Airport. She and 13 others were blocking cars from entering and leaving the parking lot. This was one of at least eight actions carried out in the luxury Hamptons area. Activists also crashed a golf course, disrupted a museum exhibition and protested in front of several villas, the AP reports.

Activists motivate radical action with the findings of scientists. By 2030, only 1% of the richest people will be responsible for 16% of all planet-warming emissions. This is according to a report by non-profit Oxfam published in 2021.

According to Richard Wilk, an economic anthropologist at Indiana University, luxury travel is "the real culprit" behind the greenhouse gas emissions of the richest people.

The researcher estimated the annual emissions of the top billionaires in 2021. He found that a superyacht with a permanent crew, a helipad, submarines and a swimming pool emits around 7020 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. This is more than 1,500 times more than a typical family car.

Climate scientist Michael Mann of Pennsylvania State University is sceptical of the activists' actions. He warns that targeting the wealthy segment of society will divert attention away from the fossil fuel companies which are responsible for at least 70% of all carbon dioxide emissions worldwide.

National governments have been slow to tackle the problem that activists are warning about. For the time being, France has banned short-haul passenger flights. The Dutch airport Schiphol, on the other hand, has announced a plan to ban private jets.

Source: Associated Press