Literary figures join Extinction Rebellion campaign against thinktanks

A number of famous novelists, poets and playwrights including Margaret Atwood and Zadie Smith have lent their support to an Extinction Rebellion campaign against the political influence of rightwing thinktanks fighting against climate action.

On Wednesday evening the Writers Rebel group will demonstrate outside 55 Tufton Street in London, a venue known to host meetings of thinktanks and lobbying outfits linked to climate science denial and the oil industry.

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These include the the Global Warming Policy Foundation, the most prominent climate sceptic group in the UK, and free market thinktank the Centre for Policy Studies, whose deputy chair is Sir Graham Brady, chair of the influential 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs.

A group of 20 high-profile writers will attend the event, including White Teeth author Zadie Smith, who said: “The heroes of this historical moment are climate activists: they are trying to save us all – primarily from ourselves. Anything the rest of us can do to acknowledge, support or further their work, we should try to do.”

She will be speaking at the event, while The Handmaid’s Tale author Atwood lent her support via video message. “Climate change due to human activity is not a theory, it is not an opinion, it is a fact,” she said. “Denial of this fact in the interests of big money will lead to our extinction as a species.”

Other attendees will include writer and activist George Monbiot, and Sir Mark Rylance, actor and first artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.

At the launch of the campaign last week, writer and actor Stephen Fry said people had a duty to “expose the lies” of climate change denial.

“It’s sickening how much money is being spent on thinktanks and professional lobbyists to spread confusion, lies and doubt on the subject of man-made climate change and its horribly real threat,” he said.

“These people and their huge corporations funding them are utilising exactly the same playbook that big tobacco used to sow doubt and confusion over the clear scientific evidence that emerged about smoking.”

The demonstration is being organised in conjunction with with the nascent Extinction Rebellion group Money Rebellion, which will target the finance industry for its inaction on the climate emergency.

Gail Bradbrook, co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, said: “The current economic system we have is killing life on earth and we desperately need a grown up conversation about something different.

“Bodies like [thinktank] the Institute of Economic Affairs won’t reveal their funders and yet are often given airtime to advocate for free market fundamentalism, as if it is a law of nature.

“We want a citizens’ assembly to rewire our economic system so that it stops harming and starts repairing the damage done.”

The event is taking place as part of XR’s 10-day protest to demand government action on the climate crisis, during which dozens have already been arrested.