From ‘not in my backyard’ to ‘not on my planet’ : The potential of Blockadia for the climate justice movement: a case study of fossil fuel resistance in Groningen, the Netherlands.

Abstract: This thesis explores the potential of Blockadia resistance, the resistance of frontline communities against fossil fuel extraction, for the climate justice movement. Driven by the need for alternative forms of climate action that address the root causes of climate change, this study examines if local fossil fuel resistance gives rise to a justice based environmentalism. The analysis is conducted on the basis of a case study of resistance against the extraction of natural gas in Groningen, the Netherlands. The findings of this case study show that there is no linear relation between lived experience of the direct consequences of fossil fuel extraction and climate justice action. Lived experience itself is neither a necessary condition, nor an automatic catalyst of climate action. Different barriers can prevent local fossil fuel resistance from transcending ‘Not In My Backyard’ concerns, and being a driver of climate justice. By identifying these barriers and uncovering how they have come into existence and function within the context of Groningen, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the relation between local and global fossil fuel resistance. By embedding these findings in political ecology literature and social movement studies, gaps in literature are uncovered, and more insight is added into mechanisms that prevent or induce climate justice action.