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Chapter 6: Can we save the planet?

This chapter does not provide a definitive answer on how to save the planet or clear instructions on what needs to be done. Instead, the chapter outlines how various actors – from dedicated environmental activists through to high-ranking government officials – have tried to save the planet, whilst remaining attentive to the issues that these groups have encountered. In doing so, the chapter raises important questions about who is trying to save the planet, how these actors are trying to save the planet and what sort of planet these actors are trying to save, what kind of world are they leaving for future generations and other species.

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Chapter Abstract

Can we save the planet? A range of different movements and organisations have campaigned to protest against environmental harms and injustices, and sometimes these have been framed as ‘saving the planet’. This chapter reviews the history of some of these movements and asks what they can change and what political risks they might pose. Taking the example of the fossil fuel divestment movement as a case study, the chapter argues that environmental movements almost always change the people involved with them; sometimes change political policies and institutions; and, from a broader perspective, have changed many of the most important structures in global history. Yet, conceiving of political change in terms of individual acts of protest can be misleading.

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Additional web content and audio-visual materials

1. Divestment campaign groups: The key campaigning websites for the divestment movement are https://350.org/ and https://gofossilfree.org/ 

2. ‘Why divest from fossil fuels?’ Made by activists from 350.org, this video makes the case for divestment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7xk9vRSQYA

3. Divestment debate: Watch a debate at MIT on fossil fuel divestment in 2015, between prominent advocates and critics of divestment in a University setting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBC4fdMvwVU

4. TED-Ed ‘How to turn protest into powerful change’: This animated TED-ed talk by Eric Liu in 2016 has a number of practical tips for the would-be activist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_g1BMVFcuw

5. Inside Story ‘The uprising that changed South Africa’: Marking the 40th anniversary of the 1976 Soweto protests – the uprising that changed South Africa – this Al Jazeera documentary has archive footage and leading activists talking about the anti-apartheid movement and its contemporary echoes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFdtVX5ON5s

6. On Governmentality: Professor Iver Neumann talks about Foucault’s concept of governmentality for the Open University at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBpI7PxwjzU

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Global Politics Film Club

This Changes Everything (2015), dir. Avi Lewis
Naomi Klein’s powerful documentary (and book) shows how communities around the world are struggling with the impacts of climate change, but importantly she also argues that such struggles can help us transform our world into something better.
Additional information available at: https://thischangeseverything.org/the-documentary/

The Yes Men (2003), dir. Sarah Price, Dan Ollman and Chris Smith
The Yes Men Fix the World (2009), dir. Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos
The Yes Men Are Revolting (2015), dir. Jacques Servin, Igor Vamos and Laura Nix
The three films made by The Yes Men offer an entertaining activist perspective on the corporatisation of society, with a particular focus on environmental issues, trade, and culture-jamming.
Additional information available at: http://theyesmen.org/movies

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Seminar room activities

Activity 1: Has your university divested from climate change? Has it been discussed, debated or campaigned for? The class could either debate the topic, structured into pro- and anti- divestment perspectives, or a more analytical activity could be set-up in which students are asked to try to explain why some divestment movements succeed and others fail, or what divestment itself can achieve and what it can’t achieve.

Activity 2: How important are social movements and protests in world politics? Ask students (in small groups?) to each try to come up with examples of important changes in world politics and history (revolutions, wars, elections, economic shifts etc) that have not been driven by social movements and protests. The task for the rest of the group is to think of ways in which popular movements and protests have shaped those events. After reflecting on these cases, how important do people think social movements are in explaining political change?

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Assessment Questions

  1. How have environmental movements shaped (or not) contemporary capitalism?
  2. What role might fossil fuel divestment play in tackling climate change?
  3. How important was popular protest in bringing down South African apartheid?
  4. How important are social movements in explaining political change?
  5. How can the Foucauldian concept of governmentality help us to view political protest critically?
  6. Is the call to ‘be the change you want to see in the world’ a form of empowerment or a technique of governmentality?