Climate activist group Extinction Rebellion will temporarily stop its direct action protests which have frustrated commuters and businesses for years.
Hundreds of campaigners have been arrested after blockading traffic, locking themselves together and spray painting buildings, but the group has said that “very little has changed” despite their efforts.
It said it will focus its activism on prioritising “attendance over arrest and relationships over roadblocks”.
Extinction Rebellion has held several protests across Sussex in recent years, with four activists appearing at Brighton Magistrates’ Court last month after chaining themselves to a branch of Barclays in North Steet, Brighton, in protest against its investment in oil and gas extraction.
The campaign group said: “As we ring in the new year, we make a controversial resolution to temporarily shift away from public disruption as a primary tactic.
“We recognise and celebrate the power of disruption to raise the alarm and believe that constantly evolving tactics is a necessary approach.
“What is needed now most is to disrupt the abuse of power and imbalance, to bring about a transition to a fair society that works together to end the fossil fuel era.
“Our politicians, addicted to greed and bloated on profits, won’t do it without pressure.
“We must be radical in our response to this crisis and determined in our efforts to address the climate and ecological emergency, even if it means taking a different approach than before.”
Extinction Rebellion campaigners called on activists to “seize the moment” to address “multiple crises” and has planned a protest for 100,000 people to surround the Houses of Parliament on April 21.
The group is hoping for co-operation between groups and movements, with hopes that the protest in Westminster could see people “stay for as long as you can”.
A spokesman for the campaign group said: “Surrounding the Houses of Parliament day after day in large numbers means we can leave the locks, glue and paint behind and instead demonstrate faith in a critical mass of people to create a moment that is impossible to ignore.”
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