Undemocratic Climate Protests: The Duty not to be a Climate Activist and the Right to Protest

According to many, civil disobedience, or even political rioting (from now on, activism), is a right of the victims of injustice. For some authors, activism is not only a right of victims but also a duty for all citizens. Many arguments have been used to justify climate activism as a duty. In this paper, I explore why there is a duty not to pursue and a duty to oppose climate activism, at least if it involves undemocratic modes of action. The main argument is the following. i. Climate activism prevents, or short-circuits, extensive democratic endorsement and awareness of climate mitigation and adaptation goals; ii. democratic endorsement and awareness of climate mitigation and adaptation goals are causally required for the effective success of climate mitigation and adaptation policies; consequently, iii. climate activism is counter-productive and ought to be prevented and not promoted. However, a right to climate protest still stands for victims. The general conclusion of the paper is that only some forms of protest are justified, namely, those acted by victims and favouring democratic deliberation and freedom.