Disturbing scenes of campaigners being pushed, dragged and soaked during their demonstrations have been circulating on social media as tensions grow.
A number of Just Stop Oil protests have been interrupted by members of the public taking matters into their own hands. A demonstration at Chelsea Flower Show this week saw three campaigners soaked as a gardener aimed her hose at them.
There have also been several incidents in the capital, where angry commuters have pulled people off the road and in one case, even hit someone. Discussing the recent incidents, TV presenter Gary Lineker talked to Channel 4 News and said history has taught us that effective demonstrations have to be disruptive.
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The Match of Day star said: "I think it's very worrying that we lock people up that are actually trying to make sure that we have some kind of future.
"I understand why people can get upset because it's disruptive demonstration. But history kind of tells you the only demonstrations that really work are disruptive ones.
"So it's a tough one. It's not a case of blaming our government for not doing enough on climate change, it's the whole world.
"Governments and the powerful people of the world are the only ones that can really halt this disaster coming.
"So, you know, I'm kind of running out of hope a little bit, but there is hope there. We have brilliant scientists in the world, they understand the issue, they understand that we can turn it around.
"But our reliance on fossil fuels, we've got to find a way out of that because, you know, we're going to destroy the future for our children and their children.
"And to be honest, that should be the biggest issue of the day. And we should all be trying to turn governments on it, not just relying on a few people that, actually, they do stuff knowing that they'll probably be locked up, and I kind of admire that in a way.
"And I know it angers a lot of people, and that's kind of what they want because it's the only way it gets publicised, and it's the only reason we're talking about it now, and I think that's important."
He then said if we manage to survive the next 50 to 100 years then people looking back will praise these protesters.
"Greta Thunberg and people that have made a real difference and they might well be the heroes."
The Government says it's still committed to granting new UK oil and gas licences but “would never” approve anything incompatible with net zero and 1.5C, the climate minister Graham Stuart has said.
Scientists and campaigners are worried they will grant permission for Norwegian firm Equinor to develop the Rosebank oil and gas field in the North Atlantic, which would produce around 500 million barrels of oil if it goes ahead. The International Energy Agency has said there must be no new oil and gas projects if the world is to become net zero by 2050.
Scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change also said emissions from existing fossil fuel infrastructure are already enough to heat the world beyond 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Overshooting this target is likely to lead to catastrophic and irreversible tipping points, climate experts have warned.
Mr Stuart said: “I can’t comment on a specific project. What I can say is that we’re committed to new oil and gas licences in the North Sea.
“We firmly believe that producing our own oil and gas as net importers, and will continue to be even as demand drops, is the right thing to do. Otherwise we’ll be spending tens of billions, if not more, on foreign-produced fossil fuels, often with lower standards of production than will happen at home."
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