Fight for the future: our best climate protest photos

Climate takeover — As part of our climate takeover to mark COP26, we're dipping into the archives and sharing some of our best photos capturing climate activism over the past few years.

The fight against climate change is a decades old struggle. For years and years, environmentalists have taken action to try to protect our natural world, encourage leaders and multinational corporations to leave fossil fuels in the ground and, more recently, prevent irreversible and devastating climate change.

The last few years have seen an explosion of those movements. The 2018 IPCC report which stated we had just 12 years to avert catastrophe became a huge calling card for many. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets behind the banners of mass movements like Extinction Rebellion and Fridays for Future.

We’ve seen co-ordinated marches across the globe, the targeting of events like Fashion Week as well as mass civil disobedience campaigns which have led to thousands arrested. Many, spurred on by the terror of what unabashed fossil-fuel use means for them and their families, have taken action for the first time on the climate over the last few years, calling on leaders here and across the globe to act.

Through all of it, we’ve been there, reporting from the ground, capturing the action and the struggle. As the world’s eyes are on Glasgow for this month’s COP26 summit and as activists gear up for a huge weekend of action in the city and across the world, we bring you some of our favourite photos of climate protests that we’ve published over the past few years.

XR protest 2018. Photo by Theo McInnes

Extinction Rebellion blockade the bridges of London, November 2018. Photo by Eva Clifford

Global Climate Strike in London. Photo by Theo McInnes

XR’s Red Rebel Brigade, October 2019. Photo by Peter Brooks

Extinction Rebellion blockade the bridges of London, November 2018. Photo by Eva Clifford

Extinction Rebellion blockade the bridges of London, November 2018. Photo by Eva Clifford

Climate protestors block roads to ‘disrupt’ Fashion Week, February 2019. Photo by Theo McInnes

XR block a London junction, August 2021. Photo by Aiyush Pachnanda

Global Climate Strike, London. Photo by Theo McInnes

XR block a London junction, August 2021. Photo by Aiyush Pachnanda

XR protest, 2018. Photo by Theo McInnes

XR block a London junction, August 2021. Photo by Aiyush Pachnanda

Climate protestors block roads to ‘disrupt’ Fashion Week, February 2019. Photo by Theo McInnes

XR block a London junction, August 2021. Photo by Aiyush Pachnanda

XR protest, 2018. Photo by Theo McInnes

COP26 takes place between 31 October – 12 November 2021. Keep an eye on Huck’s live coverage of COP on our Twitter and Instagram, and read more about our climate takeover here


Ad

Latest on Huck

Crowd of silhouetted people at a nighttime event with colourful lighting and a bright spotlight on stage.
Music

Clubbing is good for your health, according to neuroscientists

We Become One — A new documentary explores the positive effects that dance music and shared musical experiences can have on the human brain.

Written by: Zahra Onsori

Indoor skate park with ramps, riders, and abstract architectural elements in blue, white, and black tones.
Sport

In England’s rural north, skateboarding is femme

Zine scene — A new project from visual artist Juliet Klottrup, ‘Skate Like a Lass’, spotlights the FLINTA+ collectives who are redefining what it means to be a skater.

Written by: Zahra Onsori

Black-and-white image of two men in suits, with the text "EVERYTHING IS COMPUTER" in large bright yellow letters overlaying the image.
Culture

Donald Trump says that “everything is computer” – does he have a point?

Huck’s March dispatch — As AI creeps increasingly into our daily lives and our attention spans are lost to social media content, newsletter columnist Emma Garland unpicks the US President’s eyebrow-raising turn of phrase at a White House car show.

Written by: Emma Garland

A group of people, likely children, sitting around a table surrounded by various comic books, magazines, and plates of food.
© Michael Jang
Culture

How the ’70s radicalised the landscape of photography

The ’70s Lens — Half a century ago, visionary photographers including Nan Goldin, Joel Meyerowitz and Larry Sultan pushed the envelope of what was possible in image-making, blurring the boundaries between high and low art. A new exhibition revisits the era.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Silhouette of person on horseback against orange sunset sky, with electricity pylon in foreground.
Culture

The inner-city riding club serving Newcastle’s youth

Stepney Western — Harry Lawson’s new experimental documentary sets up a Western film in the English North East, by focusing on a stables that also functions as a charity for disadvantaged young people.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Couple sitting on ground in book-filled environment
Culture

The British intimacy of ‘the afters’

Not Going Home — In 1998, photographer Mischa Haller travelled to nightclubs just as their doors were shutting and dancers streamed out onto the streets, capturing the country’s partying youth in the early morning haze.

Written by: Ella Glossop

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to stay informed from the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, with personal takes on the state of media and pop culture in your inbox every month from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.