A scientist in police custody for part of the day. Julia Steinberger, economist and author of the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), was arrested on Tuesday October 11 in Bern (Switzerland) during an action by the collective Renovate Switzerland, the local equivalent of the Last movement renovation. She blocked a road axis with other environmental activists to call for thermal renovation of buildings, an effective measure in the fight against global warming.
arrest of @JKSsteinberger to Bern Wankdorf “Non-violent civil war is important, we don’t have much time left” pic.twitter.com/oorFp9WKQR
— Renovate Switzerland (@Renovate_CH) October 11, 2022
“Nonviolent civil lawsuits are very important because our government is not acting and we have very little time left,” she slipped in a video shot by the association. Another video shot by a Swiss journalist shows her trying to stop a heavyweight that keeps moving forward.
Activists against trucks… Pictures: @Renovieren_CH pic.twitter.com/fAj7AGAXZ3
— Joel Espi (@JoelEspiVevey) October 11, 2022
After her release from police custody, the scientist assured that she was “safe”. “I’m not doing this for fun, I’m doing this out of sheer desperation and fear,” she tweeted.
It is not the first time that Julia Steinberger has taken part in such an event. She recently told franceinfo why she has been taking part in this type of demonstration with Extinction Rebellion since 2018. “I see the failure of the fight against global warming in all areas of society, in science, the media and politics,” she explained. Greenhouse gas emissions, the engine of global warming, have risen steadily since the first IPCC report in 1990.
The 48-year-old scientist also dismissed any criticism of her lack of neutrality. “I have fellow economists who say every other day that we need more growth and productivity. These statements are considered neutral, although they are on the political side. Neutrality is protection of the status quo.” In her opinion, this commitment does not affect the work of the IPCC either: “Most people who accuse me of my activism are not willing to listen to science. My activism and the IPCC are being rejected at the same time, not one because of the other’s.
The scholar also emphasized the history of academic activism. His father, Jack Steinberger, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, was committed to nuclear disarmament. Renovate Switzerland plans to step up lockdown measures this fall. The seven people who were taken into police custody in Bern were released a few hours later, Renovate Switzerland said on twitter.