Money Rebellion - Extinction Rebellion UK

Money Rebellion

What is Money Rebellion?

Money Rebellion is a group of activists, economists, financial experts, bankers and others, who, through direct action, campaigning, and sharing expertise, seek to expose the root causes of our climate emergency: the financial systems dependent on endless growth, and the greedy and powerful who continue to profit from the status quo. 

With our knowledge and passion we carefully target those responsible, and work to highlight alternative models and systems that can safeguard the future for us all.

As activists we target the problem, and posit expert-driven solutions.

The economic status quo:

  • The very richest are getting richer, while people in the UK – and globally – are suffering a worsening cost of living crisis.
  • Oil and other polluting companies continue to announce record breaking profits, lobby governments to reduce regulation, invest in fossil fuel expansion, and use their PR budgets to lie to consumers. 
  • Racism and exploitation of poorer nations is still rife. 
  • Most of our ‘free’ press is captive to the will of a few billionaires.
  • Profits and growth remain the markers of how we measure ‘success’, even as people starve and the world burns.
  • Meanwhile… The climate and ecological emergency gets worse every day.

Why Money Rebellion?

Our economic system determines the course of our lives

Its rules govern everything that matters to us – but this system is willing to sacrifice our health, climate and natural world to favour the fortunes of the few.

The system is killing us

It cannot protect us from the crises to come, because its structure causes and ignores them. Our marker for progress – GDP growth – counts the short-term profits from burning oil and felling forests, but not the long-term dangers to our survival, leading us further into climate and ecological breakdown.

Break the rules

Money Rebellion is a call to expose and disrupt the economic rules and institutions driving us toward societal collapse: growth, debt, banks, the government… Find out why and how to disrupt these ideas, institutions, and more in our first wave of actions.

Some example actions

March 2022: we interrupted the HSBC AGM, demanding an end to their ongoing investment in the fossil fuel industry.

‘END FOSSIL FUELS NOW!’ Extinction Rebellion disrupts HSBC AGM (6 Min Video) See the Independent newspaper article and video

May 2022: we “sounded the alarm” at the Barclays and Standard Chartered AGMs.

See the Manchester Evening News article and video

July 2022: People protested for a month outside Vanguard’s offices, the largest investor anywhere in the world of fossil fuels.

Read the FT Adviser article

This was off the back of a successful campaign to stop Vanguard’s UK greenwashing campaign.

See the Extinction Rebellion news story and video

GET INVOLVED – WHAT YOU CAN DO

Nonviolent Direct Action

Through various forms of civil disobedience we are looking for more volunteers to join us in our campaigns that target the likes of Barclays, HSBC, Standard Chartered, and fund managers like Vanguard and Blackrock, all of whom are funding Climate breakdown. Lloyds of London insures 40% of the globe’s fossil fuel projects. 

Join Money Rebellion so together we can transform the system and stop the flow of money the fossil fuel industry needs to survive. Please visit our social media and contact us. We’re looking for any volunteers, whether you have financial and economic experience or not to help us.

Our ongoing aim, for which we need your help:

Banks, the stock market, and other unelected financial institutions make huge decisions for us and for the planet, with little to no accountability. We need new rulemakers that allow life on Earth to thrive. We’ll disrupt key economic institutions with a wide range of non-violent tactics. 

Sign up to learn more

Explore this presentation for the full range of economic and financial actions for local groups ahead:

The Money Rebellion Guide for Local Groups

Debt Disobedience

Banks and other financial institutions continue to fund fossil fuel projects and other polluting industries that destroy nature and exploit the lands of poorer nations. They encourage us to get into debt, forcing the economy to grow beyond the planet’s limits in order to pay back loans with interest. On their behalf, we will donate money to those that heal and repair the damage they do. 

Sign up to learn more

Tax Disobedience

The Government continues to pour our taxes into fossil fuel subsidies, condition-free bailouts for polluting industries, and HS2, an aviation shuttle service that is destroying nature. It continues to judge the success of our economy by growth in GDP, instead of growth in the social and environmental measures that a majority of UK citizens want.

The government isn’t using our taxes to keep us safe. So small business owners are holding some back – and donating it to those that are showing the government how it’s done.

Sign up to learn more

Disputing Debt

To keep growing, this economic system needs people to take on debt – so it encourages people to take risks. Money Rebellion wants to unite those who #Won’tPay with those who #Can’tPay. If you’re on the precipice of not being able to pay your debts, section 7 of our legal toolkit may be of interest.

Sign up to learn more

Need Help?

If you’re interested in taking part but aren’t sure or want to know more, get in touch by signing up or using our contact details at the bottom of this page. You’re not committing to anything by signing up, and any financial disobedience will be conditional on the participation of thousands of fellow rebels, creating safer conditions for taking action.

Action Resources

Discover more about our financial civil disobedience actions below.

The Money Rebellion Guide for Local Groups Money Rebellion One Page Explainer – What we’re about Money Rebellion FAQs – More details on our actions and rationale Money Rebellion Support and Wellbeing – How we support those involved Money Rebellion Legal Toolkit – Legal implications for those involved Money Rebellion Information on Council Tax Strikes

Learning Resources

We know that money and climate are complicated! Here are a few resources to find out more:

Tackling the Root of the Problem with Gail Bradbrook Heading for Financial Extinction by XR Money member and former investment manager Vince Knowles Can Economics Help Us Save the Planet? by Naomi Klein XR Money Talks webinar series with various experts featured A helpful explanation of the history of GDP and why it can’t be the be-all and end-all Positive Money’s debate on the (un)importance of GDP growth Fossil Fuel Finance Report outlining banks’ investments in fossil fuels in full detail

Contact Us

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or contact us at moneyrebellion@protonmail.com.

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