Our Demands

tell the truth

Government must tell the truth about the climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.

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act now

All governments and institutions must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero.*

*XRDC previously demanded that governments reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025. This was an important target to limit global temperature to within 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels. We are crossing the 1.5 C threshold now, but it is critical to immediately reduce emissions, since every year and tenth of a degree of warming will have consequences for people, biodiversity, and our planet.

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beyond politics

Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.

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just transition

We demand a just transition that prioritizes the most vulnerable people and indigenous sovereignty; establishes reparations and remediation led by and for Black people, Indigenous people, people of color and poor communities for years of environmental injustice, establishes legal rights for ecosystems to thrive and regenerate in perpetuity, and repairs the effects of ongoing ecocide to prevent extinction of human and all species, in order to maintain a livable, just planet for all.

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Our Values

Any person or group can organize autonomously and take action in the name and spirit of XR so long as the action fits within XR’s principles and values . In this way, power is decentralized, meaning that there is no need to ask for permission from a central group or authority.

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 OUR POSITION ON CURRENT EVENTS

The corruption, oppression, and the racist, sexist, and inhumane acts of the current Trump administration are profoundly enraging and dangerous. We stand in opposition to the absolute abuse of power used so far to strengthen and embolden the elite classes and corporations. We will continue to fight in solidarity with the vulnerable communities that, as always, will be the most impacted by these acts.

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 OUR Strategy

Why We Need Nonviolent, Disruptive Civil Resistance in the Climate Movement

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 Our Vision

2018-2022: What We Knew, What We’ve Learned

We knew the system was fucked.
The boat is sinking and the captain lies.

We knew the climate crisis was going to
destroy all we hold dear in our lives.

We knew we cannot wait for someone else to
expose, challenge, and overcome the status quo.

We learned the unstoppable power
of direct action and solidarity.

We learned patriarchy, racism, and colonialism
are at the root of the climate crisis.

We learned only focused and repeated disruptions of business
as usual will bring change at the scale needed.

We learned the haters will hate; the deniers will deny.

We learned we don’t need a pink boat to block a road.
But a blockading pink boat is freaking cool, isn’t it?

We learned we need to start unfucking the system from the bottom up.

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 Mourning As Climate Action

We are witnessing an inconceivable destruction of life and livelihoods, brought about by a system that exploits nature and people for its definition of progress. Yet society demands we carry on as if nothing is happening. We refuse.

The Mourning Rebels of Extinction Rebellion DC (XRDC) reject the numbness of today’s society. We bear witness to the loss. We grieve in public to expose the violence: 

·  The webbing of our world—ecosystems, food systems, political systems—on the verge of collapse 

·  Entire communities being displaced by floods, fires, and droughts

·  Indigenous lands stolen and exploited for resources

·  Our leaders trading dignity for greed, ignoring the crisis unfolding around us

·  Species disappearing forever, casualties of endless extraction

·  Factory farms slaughtering billions of animals in hidden suffering

Mourning is resistance. It breaks the silence. It refuses the lie that this destruction is normal. It is a crucial phase of grief.

 Mourning is an expression of solidarity and connection. Together we take a stance rather than becoming bystanders of a violent system.

It is through mourning that healing can begin. Only working through the loss can we find the courage to fight for what we care so much for. 

 Join us. Pause. Resist the numbness. Rebel.

OUR HISTORY

A small but mighty start.

A small but mighty start.

Extinction Rebellion DC was founded in November of 2018 as the very first XR chapter in the US. On December 2, within three weeks of our first meeting, we took our first direct action, holding a People’s Assembly in the street in front of the US Capitol.

The first time the police have ever done anything about Corporate Greed.

The first time the police have ever done anything about Corporate Greed.

Things were slow to get started, with a handful of volunteers working diligently through the winter to build up numbers. In April of 2019, as part of the first international XR Week of Rebellion, we had our first arrests. We had planned to take the street in front of the Republican National Committee and perform a street theater piece called “The Climate Games” to highlight the absurdity of the Republican Party’s denial of the climate crisis. Unfortunately, we were arrested within 5 minutes of arriving - the Capitol Police are always quick to arrest protestors in the streets. In total, we had 8 people arrested, and got our first ever media coverage.

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