Climate activists are radicalising and getting increasingly dangerous, a confidential Belgian government report has warned.
The 37-page report, compiled by the Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (OCAD) and seen by newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, stated that “a segment of climate activists is moving towards extremism.”
It highlighted a major protest in the Port of Ghent on March 1 2025, which narrowly avoided turning into a serious incident where, according to the report, people could have died.
On that day, members of the climate collective Code Rood (Code Red) staged a blockade at the Cargill industrial site.
Initially peaceful, the protest escalated as masked individuals vandalised offices, smashed windows, destroyed equipment, sprayed graffiti, and disabled safety infrastructure.
“Just about the entire interior is destroyed: desks, laptops, servers, computer screens, tablets, printers and drinks vending machines”, newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws wrote.
While a spokesperson condemned violence, others expressed sympathy for the vandals, sending what OCAD describes as “mixed messages.”
More concerning, the report outlined how activists also targeted nearby steelmaker ArcelorMittal, setting off fireworks near gas pipelines, destroying vehicles and cutting essential safety cables.
One group even set a moored ship adrift, potentially causing an industrial accident and endangering critical infrastructure
While OCAD did not suggest activists intentionally sought to cause fatalities, it warned that the movement’s internal shift on the use of violence was deeply troubling, noting a part of the movement has moved in the direction of extremism and that “the moral framework” of some activists has shifted.
The report cited prominent climate figure Anuna De Wever, once dubbed the Belgian Greta Thunberg, who in a 2024 interview said that sabotaging pipelines might be necessary in the fight against capitalism and climate inaction. “She has developed a far more radical stance,” the report claimed.
“Several well-known international and national climate thinkers defend that evolution,” OCAD noted.
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OCAD noted the growing influence of far-left groups embracing anarchism and revolution such as Gauche Anticapitaliste and Les Soulèvements de la Terre, both of which have participated in or supported Code Rood actions. Their slogans increasingly reject state authority and capitalism rather than focusing solely on climate policy.
Les Soulèvements de la Terre has been involved in actions like occupying and damaging factories (e.g. a Lafarge site) and disrupting infrastructure projects like the Lyon-Turin tunnel. These actions have been labeled as “eco-terrorism” by critics, with damages reportedly costing millions of euros.
The climate coalition Code Rood has also softened its stance on non-violent protest. Where it previously opposed damage to property, it now considers all forms of direct action “legitimate.” This shift has prompted organisations like Greenpeace and Grandparents for the Climate to publicly distance themselves.
Further concerns were raised after Code Rood supported a separate, unrelated protest at a defence firm in Doornik, which resulted in over €1 million in damages and equipment destined for Ukraine’s war effort.
Code Rood has been increasingly pointing its attention towards the war in Gaza, and condemning Israel’s behaviour.
The OCAD report, delivered to the federal government in June, stopped short of recommending policy, but urged close monitoring.
It concluded that a radical fringe within the climate movement is embracing violent tactics — a development that security services consider increasingly serious.
To make matters worse, a Flemish MP pointed out that the Flemish regional government gave subsidies to a non profit that joined the extreme actions of Code Rood. Each year, VZW LABO received €230,000.
Het Laatste Nieuws also reported on June 6 that Code Rood received funding from progressive Americans via the US based ‘Climate Emergency Fund’, which is bankrolled by left-wing actors like Jeremy Strong, Adam McKay, Chelsea Handler. Hairs of rich families, such as Aileen Getty and Abigail Disney also donated.
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— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) July 2, 2025
