Most targets are going to need a real push, and at some point it may be appropriate to escalate the campaign – from soft creative actions through to office occupations.

If your team thinks only about soft actions, some advice:

Do incorporate the possibility of escalation into your campaign. The principle of escalation is that you can give decision makers numerous chances to concede to your demands in response to increasingly disruptive tactics which make it more and more difficult for them to reject you.

A practical way to do this is to bring in someone to do a training for your group who had to escalate (or didn’t and lost) — and to talk about how escalation can be helpful.

Every time you expect a decision from management, plan for the possibility they might just sit on it for an extended period of time. They might meet all of your demands, none of them, or any number in between. Each possibility may require a different response in message and level of disruption.

Disruption may mean many things in different contexts. Sometimes a simple banner can get attention to the issue. Tactics used are always nonviolent.

If your team thinks only about rapidly escalating, some advice:

A common way to lose a “yes” campaign is to lose your allies too early. You don’t want to turn off internal allies — or isolate them. Keep your powder dry as long as possible.

So plan for a period of non-escalation by setting some internal timelines.

For both groups a piece of advice: Set a reasonable timeline for your target — so your team has agreed when you’ll escalate if they don’t take meaningful steps forwards.

Here are some example tactics you might use:

Create a homework dilemma

In places where homes and schools are not connected to energy supply, suffer repeated blackouts, or parents are struggling with unaffordable energy prices, and the goal is to get support for renewable energy to be built for schools and homes, hold an action where students do their homework or study for exams in the local government building, mayor’s building or townhall.

The aim is to create a dilemma for the local government, who would be seen as mean for evicting peaceful students who want to study but can’t due to lack of energy supply, but who also can’t let the students stay there in their local government building indefinitely. This may help polarise public opinion, to pick a side, of the peaceful students demanding renewable energy for their schools, or local government who aren’t tackling the lack of energy problem, hopefully increasing public support for the campaign and it’s goal.

For this to work, students must maintain non-violent discipline: for instance it can help if they conduct themselves politely, quietly, are dressed in uniform or the smartest clothes they have, and that their only action is to sit and study their books. They can hand out leaflets quietly explaining their action and their demand. This action could be repeated week after week to increase pressure, and could be carried out in multiple locations by self-organising student groups across a city or country.

Hold a pollution die-in

Hold a “die-in”, where you lie on the ground to symbolise the tragic impact of fossil fuel pollution. This could be in a central public space, at the location of a target, like outside a mayor’s office or school, or it could temporarily block city traffic. You can wear dust, pollution or gas masks to add visual impact. If you are blocking traffic or commuters from passing, you may like to consider how to keep their sympathy with your cause. For instance, you might like to hand out information leaflets to people driving cars or commuting, explaining how they are affected too and explaining your purpose, and promise to keep the disruption short until you get the images and media coverage you desire. Make sure you have signs explaining your key messages on the problem of pollution and the solution of clean green transport.

Plant pinwheels: To represent the awesome power of the wind, plant hundreds of pinwheels in a central public location where many people will see, or even outside your local target that you’re requesting to pledge to switch to renewables, like outside the town hall or in the ground of your university or school (they could be handmade). They can easily be cleared away again after your action, leaving no damage.

Party at a green energy carnival: Hold a street carnival, parade, party, gig or concert, on the theme of “green energy”, where people are invited to have fun by dressing up or making beautiful props to carry that represent the power of the sun, wind, or tidal energy. Great for kids, students, and all adults that love to play. You can add music, food, spoken word, and games. It can be as family-friendly or as playfully disruptive as you like. Perhaps occasionally the party of sun, wind and tide costumes will momentarily blow through the offices of your town hall, or through a dirty piece of fossil fuel infrastructure.

Hold a candle-lit event to symbolise our energy struggle

Many of our communities face unaffordable energy bills while energy companies make big profits, repeated blackouts, or are not yet connected to electricity. Hold a candle-lit event in a public space, or at the location of your local target, calling for the renewable energy future that they could support. Candle-lit lanterns could light the way on a night-time march. Candles are often symbols of hope against the darkness.

Show faith in a better future

Hold a prayer meeting at the location of your local target, together with your community of worship, an interfaith group, a ceremony with traditional leaders, or a contemplation circle with friends, reflecting on the threat to our communities and cultures, and our strength together and hope through action. You could find religious or spiritual passages or poems on how the earth is blessed with resources and our responsibility to protect it. These could be held more disruptively by occupying a local targets space temporarily.

Play leapfrog

The world is ready to jump from dirty fossil fuel era to clean energy future. Organise a game of leapfrog (see how to play) – no resources needed, just a couple of friends! The world’s largest game of leapfrog was 1,348 young students in New Zealand and took just 9 minutes, and the world’s fastest game of leapfrog took just 2 people jumping 57 times in a single minute. Can you beat their record?! It might get media attention. This could be a great challenge for a university campus, school, or outside the town hall.

Spell out what you want

Build words in solar panels and take photos and video for social media and media coverage. This could be in the location of your target.

Hold a mock auction or court

Our communities should have more say over our energy supply, but governments are bypassing them. Governments are granting licences and selling off communal land for destructive, dirty gas, oil and coal infrastructure. Give people the chance to publicly debate and demonstrate their choice would be for renewable energy, by holding a mock auction or court. A mock auction could sell example locations for solar, wind or tidal installation, to the highest bidder. A mock court could go through the evidence against dirty energy and for renewables, drawing in testimony by affected people and expert witnesses, and a mock judge could pass sentence banning fossil fuels.This can draw attention to and educate the community on the issues, give them a space to be heard, produce powerful testimony, and get media coverage. The hearing could take place at the location of the target like a local government office, or even within an fossil fuel auction disrupting the main meeting.

Hold a kite festival

We know wind power is fantastic. But demonstrations can be boring, or unsafe. Make yours more colourful and fun. Paint messages and decorate kites with your messages, and fly them outside the location of your local target, like a town hall.

Start a solar rebellion

Put up solar panels disruptively in central locations or at the site of dirty fossil fuel infrastructure.