Q: Who are you / who can join you?
A: We are a group of scientists, scholars, and academics. In actions, we identify ourselves by wearing lab coats. We ask people to only wear lab coats and give interviews on behalf of Scientist Rebellion if they are (1) university/hogeschool/research institute staff, including PhD students, that are active in research or (2) hold a PhD and currently work as scientists or researchers and / or identify as scientists / scholars.
Q: I am not a scientist or academic, can I still join?
A: Scientist Rebellion primarily consists of scientists, scholars, and academics and is geared towards mobilizing the academic community to engage in civil disobedience. That said, you can contribute to organizational tasks and even partake in (certain) actions if you are not a scientist or academic, provided that you do not wear a lab coat or act as a spokesperson. However, depending on your profession and interests, you may instead wish to consider joining a group that is either more specific (for example Doctors for Extinction Rebellion) or more broad (like Extinction Rebellion, Debt 4 Climate, Just Stop Oil, etc.).
Q: Are you all climate scientists?
A: No, some are but many are not. The climate emergency involves many different disciplines, as evidenced by the wide range of backgrounds of the authors of the IPCC reports. We stand up for the academic consensus on climate change, and against the ignoring thereof as members of the academic community.
Q: What do you do?
A: We call for urgent action to address the climate emergency and ecological collapse. We do this primarily through civil disobedience. In addition, we organize marches and protests, write opinion pieces for the media and in scientific journals, and advocate within our institutions for working within planetary limits.
Q: Why do you do this?
As scientists, we have been ringing the alarm bell about the climate crisis for decades. But governments did not take our warnings seriously, and year after year, emissions continued to rise. Today governments speak of “keeping 1.5°C alive”, while continuing to subsidize fossil fuels and allowing oil and gas explorations across the world. 1.5°C, then, is not alive. Instead, we are moving into uncharted and terrifying territory. As the latest IPCC report notes, “there is a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all.” We urge scientists and academics from all disciplines to join the forefront of the climate movement and help shift society into emergency mode. We have no time to lose.
Q: What’s up with the lab coats?
A: It’s a simple way to be recognizable. No, most of us don’t wear one in our profession.
Q: What is your relation with Extinction Rebellion?
A: You could view us as a sister organization. Our name is clearly inspired by them. However, we are comprised mostly of scientists and academics, and we organize independently.
Q: What is your relation with Scientist Rebellion Global?
A: While every country-specific Scientist Rebellion has their own priorities, we sometimes come together to engage in big joint campaigns. We are thus embedded in the structure of SR Global via our country representative, but we are independently organized. We do not have an influence over most of what SR Global is doing. Think of country-specific SR groups and SR Global as loosely related but independent organizations.
Q: How many members do you have?
A: There is no formal membership of Scientist Rebellion. We organize in a loose manner and are growing quickly — as of November 2023, we are over 500 with varying backgrounds and levels of involvement.
Q: Who is in charge?
A: We are a horizontal organization based on the principles of sociocratic self organization. This means that no single person is in charge.
Q: Can I request you for a talk?
A: Yes. We are open to talk to all stakeholders, from academic institutions and grassroots organizations to political parties and policymakers. You can reach us at scientistrebellion_nl@protonmail.com.
Q: Do you support any specific political party?
A: We do not support specific political parties, but we do see that some political parties more honestly tell the truth and more boldly propose to do what is necessary than others.