Just Stop Oil

Just Stop Oil (JSO) formed in February 2022 as a decentralized network of environmental activists committed to stopping fossil fuel expansion in the UK. The coalition rapidly gained international attention through disruptive direct actions: blocking major roads and bridges, staging sit-ins at oil depots, and famously throwing soup on Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” painting (protected by glass) in London’s National Gallery to protest climate inaction. JSO’s provocative tactics— often involving young activists in orange high-visibility vests— aim to shock the public and media into confronting the climate emergency, even as they face arrests and harsh new anti-protest laws in response.

Despite criticism over their confrontational methodology, the activists behind Just Stop Oil have claimed significant impact in reshaping the public debate on the ethics of fossil fuel industries. In 2023–2024, the UK government showed signs of yielding, with no new North Sea oil licenses granted— a core victory JSO attributes to their sustained pressure. In April 2025, after three intense years of frequent action, evocative protests, and over 3,000 arrests, Just Stop Oil announced it would “hang up the hi-vis” (referring to their iconic high-visibility orange vests), and suspend its disruptive campaign, declaring that its demand of ending new oil and gas projects had effectively become government policy. The group plans to regroup with new strategies, but vows to continue fighting for climate justice through other forms of resistance and by supporting imprisoned environmental activists.