2022 might be remembered as the year of weird climate protests. Splashing tomato soup on Van Gogh’s most famous painting. Spilling milk on supermarket premises. Mass cycling onto airport runways to keep private jets on the ground. These are just a few of the weird climate protests led by activists worldwide.

Protests are predominant prior to, during, and after the COP global climate negotiations. However, this year has seen a change in the situation. The world’s leaders are not adequately addressing the climate catastrophe. Because of this, the protests against climate change have become increasingly intense. Here are a few of the methods activists have used to protest across the globe.

1. The Van Gogh-Soup Climate Protest

The number one in the sequence for the ‘weird climate protests of 2022’ is a demonstration that gained worldwide attention in October 2022 and gained attention on social media feeds.

In October, a pair of activists with Just Stop Oil tossed tomato soup over Vincent Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers “in London’s National Gallery. Anna Holland and Phoebe Plummer were the two campaigners in charge of the stunt. They splashed the artwork’s protective frame, then continued attaching their hands to the wall, anchoring themselves there to prevent security from taking them away immediately. The picture was not harmed, and the two were eventually apprehended.

Source: Climate protestors after throwing soup over Vincent Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers. “

Since April 2022, Just Stop Oil protests have been held around the UK. Their request is to discontinue oil. This implies that no new permits or licenses will be issued for the UK’s fossil fuel exploration, development, or production.

There is already more oil and gas in the UK than the nation can afford to burn to achieve its net zero goals. Additionally, the country’s strong dependence on fossil fuels and their effects are seen in the present cost of living and energy challenges. According to estimates, over one million additional people in the UK will be pushed into poverty this winter due to the growing cost of electricity.

2. Parkour Athletes Turn Off Parisian Lights

Young sportsmen who compete in the urban obstacle-jumping sport of Parkour have spent the last 2 years swinging around huge French cities switching off inefficient store signs at night to decrease light pollution and preserve energy.

It was discovered recently after a well-known parkour performer, Hadj Benhalima, switched off a light switch that was more than 10 feet above the ground.

Source: An activist from the “On the Spot” parkour team climbs up a building on a night when they turn off the lights on dozens of in Paris, France, October 23, 2022

This specific team of teenage activists is a part of On the Spot Parkour, an organization that has spent the last two years fighting light pollution and unnecessary energy usage in towns throughout France.

The group believes their actions assist in enforcing a Paris City Hall directive that requires the shop to turn off all signposts and window displays in the middle of the night aside from emergency and medical stores, which retailers have largely disregarded.

3. Cyclists Ground Private Jets at Amsterdam Airport 

With 3.5% of global emissions, aviation significantly contributes to climate change. Moreover, compared to shared buses or train rides, airplanes generate over 100 times more CO2 per hour. The equivalence of 10 commercial flights or 50 European rail journeys is one trip in a private jet.

As a response, the climate activists modified their strategy, moving away from attaching themselves to seats and throwing food at artwork to creating mayhem at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport by riding across the runway.

On November 6, 2022, hundreds of people invaded a private jet runway at the airport, attempting to obstruct take-off by riding around the tarmac.

Source: Protestors physically stopping private jets from taking off from Amsterdam’s main airport

The demonstrators rode across the eastern part of the Netherlands’ largest international airport, one of Europe’s busiest travel hubs, while wearing bright yellow overalls and jackets.

Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion were among the environmental organizations that took part in this action. They also occupied the airport’s main hall and carried posters that said “more trains” and “restrict aviation.”

4. Spilling Milk in Supermarkets

On October 15, as staff members and consumers were watching, activists of the animal rights and climate change organization Animal Rebellion broke into UK supermarkets. They dumped milk and other dairy goods on the floor.

Representatives of Animal Rebellion stated that the purpose of this innovative protest was to persuade the UK government to support the switch to a plant-based diet, arguing that dairy is a highly inefficient and destructive sector and a significant contributor to the climate crisis that is presently endangering all life on Earth.

World animal production accounts for 14.5% of global emissions. In fact, plant-based diets may cut a person’s carbon footprint from food by up to 73 %, according to studies from the University of Oxford.

Source: Supporters of Animal Rebellion pouring out milk in a Waitrose in Edinburgh, Oct. 15, 2022

5. Peter Kalmus chained himself to JP Morgan Chase’s building

On April 6, 2022, climate scientists chained themselves to a JPMorgan Chase building in Los Angeles to protest the bank’s support of fossil fuel projects.

Peter Kalmus and three other scientists went to the JP Morgan Chase building in downtown Los Angeles. They chained themselves to the entrances in an effort to draw attention to the current climate crisis and JP Morgan Chase’s position as the bank that lends the most money to fossil fuel companies. This is another event why 2022 might be remembered as the year of weird climate protests.

Source: Demonstrators in front of a Chase Bank building in Los Angeles, California, April 6, 2022

The Bottom Line

Climate activists viewed civil disobedience as a negative tactic in the past years. However, it is now unquestionably one of the tactics used by the younger generation of climate activists, and a by-product of this is that 2022 might be remembered as the year of weird climate protests.

According to research, their strategies can have a considerable positive impact on their cause, but they also pose a significant danger. Additionally, research demonstrates that varying amounts of disruption are suitable depending on whom protestors seek to persuade. However, any potentially aggressive behavior, such as tampering with property or assaulting somebody physically, is unacceptable. This line should not be crossed by protesters.