Climate Camps & Actions

Leonhard Lenz | CC0 1.0

CLIMATE CHANGE - Climate Camps For Action & Other Climate Camps

Climate camps have emerged worldwide as a powerful direct-action tool, serving as temporary eco-villages, educational hubs, and protest bases that challenge the fossil fuel industry and demand urgent climate action.

They bring together youth activists, NGOs, and local communities to engage in non-violent direct action and community building outside of traditional channels. To help individuals navigate this growing international movement, Better World Info provides a comprehensive country-by-country guide on climate camps, upcoming events, regional initiatives, and how to get involved.

The climate camp movement began in the UK, where the very first Camp for Climate Action was held in August 2006 near the Drax coal-fired power station in North Yorkshire. At the time, Drax was Europe's largest coal-burning power plant and its single biggest carbon emitter.

Over ten days, around 600 campaigners gathered outside the facility to protest the power station's environmental and social impacts, draw global attention to the climate crisis, and challenge corporate polluters.

Over the years, these camps have proved remarkably successful in galvanising public consciousness, shifting political discourse, and laying the groundwork for subsequent waves of climate mobilisation.

Other high-profile protest encampments include the 2007 Heathrow expansion protest and the 2008 Kingsnorth power station camp. Today, the enduring legacy of the first Camp for Climate Action continues to inspire new generations of environmental defenders looking to combine direct action with community-led resistance.