“The magnitude of the threat from the climate crisis is absolutely enormous, and nobody is listening to us. We’ve done enough publications, what we need now are public actions,” says Aaron Thierry, earth system scientist and activist with Scientists for Extinction Rebellion.

From Thierry’s organisation to Scientist Rebellion and the A22 Network (which includes Just Stop Oil, Declare Emergency, Dernière Rénovation and Renovate Switzerland, among others), environmental movements composed of activists identifying as scientists have multiplied across the world in recent years.

Concerned by the speed of climate change and faced with political inaction and even “anti-climate” policies, scientists from every field are participating in civil disobedience. Long confined to media appearances and signature gathering, members of the scientific community have been ignored by political leaders despite the urgency of the issues at stake. Many feel that they have no choice left but to leave their laboratories and take to the streets.

On its website, Scientist Rebellion, an organisation comprising over 1,200 scientists from 26 countries, calls for a “climate revolution”:

“Academics are perfectly placed to wage a rebellion: we exist in rich hubs of knowledge and expertise; we are well connected across the world, and to decision-makers; we have large platforms from which to inform, educate and rally others all over the world; and we have implicit authority and legitimacy,…