Code Rood

Code Rood
PurposeCivil disobedience, climate activism
Location
A flyer for a Code Rood action, including their red spiral logo

Code Rood (also styled CODE ROOD, Dutch for "Code Red") is a network of climate activists based in the Netherlands. The activists organize large-scale civil disobedience actions in opposition to the fossil fuel industry.[1]

Code Rood is horizontally organized, and was inspired in part by Ende Gelände 2016, during which protestors shut down a coal mine and a coal-fired power station for a period of two days.[2][3]

History

In June 2017, Code Rood called for a civil disobedience action at the Port of Amsterdam as well as a climate camp nearby.[4] The civil disobedience action took place on June 24, the second anniversary of the court case State of the Netherlands v. Urgenda Foundation.[2] A group of about 300 activists successfully shut down the OBA Bulk Terminal Amsterdam coal port for over eight hours, which the company's executive director said cost them about 50,000 euros.[5] The group had stated that they would leave before dark, but five activists remained in a crane and were arrested for trespassing.[6]

In August 2018, Code Rood organized a protest in Groningen near a group of storage tanks belonging to Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM), a joint venture which is owned by Shell and ExxonMobil.[7] The march was set up by locals whose homes had been damaged by NAM's natural gas extraction in the area, and approximately 400[8] to 700 people attended, setting up a camp which blocked transportation in and out of the tank complex.[9] After 200[8] to 300 more protestors joined the group in the late afternoon,[9] police used batons and pepper spray against a group that moved closer to the fence than agreed upon, and Code Rood reported that five activists were injured and one had to be treated in an ambulance.[8][10] In February 2019, the police issued a statement that officers had used disproportionate force at the protest.[11][12]

In May 2021, Code Rood collaborated with Extinction Rebellion to paint a Shell gas station in The Hague black as a protest while the gas company was holding its annual meeting in the same city.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Code Rood". Patagonia Action Works. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  2. ^ a b "Code Rood". Amsterdam Alternative. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
  3. ^ van de Wiel, Han (2017-06-27). "Code Rood in de Amsterdamse haven: nee tegen kolen" [Code Rood in the port of Amsterdam: no to coal]. Down To Earth Magazine (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2020-08-09. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
  4. ^ "CODE ROOD calls for mass civil disobedience in port of Amsterdam". de.indymedia.org. 5 June 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-07-22. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
  5. ^ van Kempen, Jop (25 June 2017). "'Milieuactivisten maken voor tienduizenden euro's schade'" [Environmentalists cause tens of thousands of euros in damage]. Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2017-06-26. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Afgesplitste actievoerders Code Rood gearresteerd" [Separated Code Rood campaigners arrested]. Het Parool (in Dutch). 2017-06-25. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
  7. ^ "Groningen field to produce gas for another 50 years". Oil & Gas Journal. 22 June 2009. Archived from the original on 2017-02-03. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  8. ^ a b c van Hofslot, Gerdt (28 August 2018). "Demonstranten in Farmsum woedend: 'De politie moet zich schamen voor dit geweld'" [Protesters in Farmsum furious: 'The police should be ashamed of this violence']. Dagblad van het Noorden (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  9. ^ a b Malm, Andreas (January 5, 2021). How to Blow Up a Pipeline: Learning to Fight in a World on Fire. Verso Books. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-83976-025-9. OCLC 1230557127.
  10. ^ "Police use batons, pepper spray to break up Groningen anti-gas demo". DutchNews.nl. 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  11. ^ "Police say use of batons against anti-gas demonstrators was wrong". DutchNews.nl. 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  12. ^ "Politie kijkt terug op rol tijdens actieweek Code Rood" [Police look back on role during action week Code Rood]. Politie (in Dutch). Dutch National Police. 15 February 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  13. ^ Slattery, Laura. "Jeff Bezos's superyacht, a Shell climate protest, and fashion industry tactics for 2021". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 2021-05-22. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
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