We Smell...
a global political economy based on the transfer of wealth from the global working classes to an elite minority.
neoliberal development institutions and policies forcing extractive energy models onto former colonised, ecologically vulnerable nations.
a greenwashed energy transition for Europe set to reproduce these imperial dynamics.
the gas and hydrocarbon industries as fuellers and funders of war, settler colonial occupations and genocide.
the securitisation of energy infrastructure protecting the interests of private profits at the expense of local people.
an energy market reliant on the cheapened labour of racialised, precarious, and migrant workers.
We also smell a growing movement of movements against racial capitalism and imperialism.
A movement fighting for transnational workers solidarity, for public ownership of energy production and resources, for a worker-led energy transition, for radical, revolutionary care that demands a more inhabitable planet for all.
WeSmellGas
is an abolitionist, anti-imperialist collective of organisers, researchers and film-makers currently based in Europe.
We are rooted in radical and revolutionary movements against borders, empire, and state violence. We are exploring ways of applying this politics to the struggle for ecological and energy justice.
We conduct critical research to locate Europe’s key perpetrators of energy imperialism and work with those in resistance to new extractivist energy projects.
We take action in European imperial cores, to disrupt and resist energy projects that weaponise and reinforce racial capitalist dynamics, and to demand better for us all.
We deliver political education in Europe by producing and curating resources, creative media, workshops and written content to expand the anti-imperialist, anti-colonial consciousness and action of climate movements organising in Northern Europe, while connecting those to existing struggles outside the imperial core.
GET IN TOUCH
If for helping with translations, requesting a workshop, organising together, or sharing resources, we would love to hear from you!
Email:
collective@wesmellgas.org
Instagram:
@wesmellgas
Principles
1. Abolish: We believe in the abolition of racial capitalism. Therefore we believe in the abolition of the structures and institutions that uphold it: empire, nations, borders, private property, profit-making corporations and the police.
2. Care: We organise because none of us are free until we are all free. We embody this in our collective organising model and in our internationalist politics of solidarity.
3. Stand in Solidarity: We aim to show up for our siblings facing the worst impacts of extractivism, colonialism and precarity globally, by taking disruptive action with material impact.
4. Fight Imperialism: Challenging the actors, processes and structures that uphold imperialism is how we will realise a more just world for all.
5. Imagine: Feeling, narrative, lived experience, art are often neglected by mainstream political organising and its utilitarian logics. Our political methodology includes all of these things alongside its more pragmatic approaches.
6. Hope: In moments of crisis, it is essential to maintain hope that our movements will win. We are fiercely critical of capitalist institutions and their supporters. We are fiercely optimistic about the work of our friends, comrades and movements for justice from across the world.
Introducing the
Resource Library
a digital multi-media library to share resources on energy, extractivism, imperialism and collective liberation in the form of books, articles, videos, podcasts and more.
THE NAME
'WeSmellGas' came out of the need to bring fossil gas and the violence it perpetuates into environmental and other social justice movements when it was little spoken about when we set out in 2022.
Today, fossil gas remains a key target for our fight against colonial and imperialist exploitation. It is also a powerful image to expose the structures of the current global energy systems as invisible, explosive and toxic.
More about the collective
We organise in a horizontal, non-hierarchical structure that aims to centre care, compassion and creativity across our work. We are committed to values of anti-racism, anti-classism and queer, feminist liberation. We acknowledge this is a big challenge and we do not take it on lightly. We welcome feedback and support in the process.
Across all of our work we prioritise building and nourishing strong relations of solidarity, trust and collaboration with anti-extractivist, anti-racist and anti-imperialist groups in geographies exposed to Western European imperial violences, including Southern, Central and Eastern Europe.
Support the collective
We are transitioning towards an entirely supporter-based funding model for the collective's core activities, as we deeply oppose any structural dependence of revolutionary movements on institutional bodies.
Your donations will support our political work by covering basic expenses such as website hosting, digital subscriptions and occasional travel. If you can, please consider making your donation recurrent to support the collective's longevity.
Scan with your bank app
Donate 5€
Bank Details:
Name: WeSmellGas ASBL
IBAN: BE07 8939 4416 9066
BIC: VDSPBE91
Bank: VDK Bank
Scan with your bank app
Donate 10€
Bank Details:
Name: WeSmellGas ASBL
IBAN: BE07 8939 4416 9066
BIC: VDSPBE91
Bank: VDK Bank
Scan with your bank app
Donate 25€
Bank Details:
Name: WeSmellGas ASBL
IBAN: BE07 8939 4416 9066
BIC: VDSPBE91
Bank: VDK Bank
Scan with your bank app
Donate 50€
Bank Details:
Name: WeSmellGas ASBL
IBAN: BE07 8939 4416 9066
BIC: VDSPBE91
Bank: VDK Bank
Scan with your bank app
Other options
Bank Details:
Name: WeSmellGas ASBL
IBAN: BE07 8939 4416 9066
BIC: VDSPBE91
Bank: VDK Bank
If you have questions or would like to make a donation in another way, please get in touch!
