Scientists around the world rise up for climate and ecological justice
In April 2022, hundreds of scientists rose in civil disobedience, breaking the law in more than twenty-eight countries. Risking arrest, they glued their hands to roads, blocked government and corporate buildings, and chained themselves to the White House fence. In Science in Resistance, Fernando Racimo provides a first-person account of the Scientist Rebellion, a growing international movement of researchers stepping beyond conventional roles to alert the public about the need for action in the climate emergency. Combining personal stories, interviews with frontline activists, and insights from research on direct action and academia, he explores the challenges scientists face when taking a stand for climate and social justice.
Reflecting on his role as a scientist-activist, Racimo describes how he came to be involved in the movement. He also explores the many ways in which academic institutions today are complicit in climate breakdown—whether by accepting funding from and collaborating with the very industries driving it, or by discouraging scientists from speaking up. Drawing on lessons from political science, psychology, ecology, sociology, and the history of science, this inspiring book shows how we can all take a stand for climate justice, by collectively organizing for change.
Fernando Racimo is Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Copenhagen and a founding member of the Danish chapter of Scientist Rebellion.
“There’s nothing academics love more than research, so why are so many now sidelining their careers to take to the streets in civil disobedience? Scientist Rebellion has helped spark a revolution in academia, and this compelling, first-hand narrative tells the story from the inside. If you’re a researcher and want to have real-world impact, this is essential reading.”—Charlie Gardner, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent
"An inspiring call to action! This powerful book reveals the contradictions of academic science and describes the struggles of academic-activists engaging in disruptive action. Through compelling stories and raw honesty, Fernando Racimo breaks the silence by uncovering the repressive norms of science and the constraining structures of universities. This is a must-read for activists, academics, and scientists all over the world!"—Jennie C. Stephens, Professor, National University of Ireland Maynooth, and author of Climate Justice and the University: Shaping a Hopeful Future for All
“Urgent, moving, and courageous, this book demands we rethink what science is for. A powerful call to action that centers justice, care, and defiance in the face of climate coloniality.”—Farhana Sultana, Professor, Syracuse University, and editor of Confronting Climate Coloniality: Decolonizing Pathways for Climate Justice
"Rebelling against academia as usual, this book is urgent, compelling, and engaging. A vital read for academic relevance in our century of climate, ecological, and political crises. We need to move from understanding to action, and this book shows both why and how."—Julia Steinberger, Professor of Societal Challenges of Climate Change, University of Lausanne
"A compelling and eloquently argued call to action—essential reading for any academic committed to climate justice."—Matthias Schmelzer, Professor for Social-Ecological Transformation Research, University of Flensburg and coauthor of The Future is Degrowth: A Guide to a World beyond Capitalism
"Racimo has written an essential book from the inside of an essential social movement. He takes us on a journey of experiences and political analyses that matter to scholars anywhere. This is a book that makes us think critically about our role in the climate emergency, with a clear grasp of what climate change is doing and will do to society over the next decades."—Oscar Berglund, Senior Lecturer in International Public and Social Policy, University of Bristol
"Racimo’s deeply compassionate and unflinchingly honest book tells the story of scientists choosing solidarity and actions over silence and denial in the climate and ecological emergency. With its sharp analysis and its testimonies of reflection, vulnerability, and courage, Science in Resistance shows the true commitment to knowledge and the responsibility to act. Whether you’re a researcher, academic, teacher, or concerned citizen, let this book move and mobilize you to join the struggles for climate justice!"—Laura Horn, Associate Professor of Political Economy, Roskilde University
"A masterfully written manifesto that will hopefully mobilize more colleagues to become activists—and could help others to understand why scientists are now taking to the streets."—Wolfgang Cramer, IPCC author and Research Director, Mediterranean Institute for Biodiversity and Ecology, CNRS, France
"This book is a communication from one of the frontlines of the worsening climate and ecological crisis, looking at how educators and researchers should respond to and in a world on fire. With honesty and humility and also courage, Racimo makes the case that those who produce knowledge cannot continue to act in a business-as-usual manner. Science in Resistance is a pioneering book, an example of someone digging where they stand and calling other knowledge workers to join the struggle to speak truth to power and translate knowledge into action for climate justice. I thank him as a fellow scholar, for breaking the debilitating silence within the academy around scientists not having a duty to become politically active. Hope for effective climate action, as this book shows, is generated through having the courage of one’s convictions. Racimo’s empowering message is that more academics need to join the political struggle for climate justice and in moving from the lab to the street, also move away from dangerous and wishful thinking of technological solutions. To the well-known Scientist Rebellion slogan ‘Armed only with peer reviewed science,’ this book enables us to now add the words of Irish revolutionary James Connolly, ‘Our demands most modest are, we only want the earth.’”—John Barry, Professor of Green Political Economy and Codirector of the Centre for Sustainability, Equality and Climate Action, Queen’s University Belfast
312 pp.5.5 x 8.5Illus: 20 b/w illustrations
9780520420335$95.00|£80.00Hardcover
Oct 2025