SouthernWorldwide.com – In 2024, a notable trend emerged where climate activists in New York City were seen protesting alongside anti-Israel demonstrators at a rally titled “Climate Justice Means Free Palestine.” This follows a pattern observed last year when prominent climate activist Greta Thunberg attempted to reach Israel by sea, participating in a flotilla that protested the ongoing war in Gaza. Upon being denied entry, she vocally expressed her solidarity with Palestine.
More recently, activists from CodePink, a feminist activist group known for its far-left stance, have been linked to funding from Neville Roy Singham, an American expatriate residing in Shanghai. This group, which has previously shown support for the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Cuban Communist Party, was observed circulating a video on Instagram last week. The video targeted a data center project in Utah, reportedly backed by investor Kevin O’Leary.
Experts suggest that a common thread connects these seemingly disparate causes. They point to a shared disdain for America as a unifying factor among climate activists, anti-Israel protesters, and various other activist movements with diverse agendas.
This convergence is further fueled by funding originating from China, according to experts who express concern that this trend is weakening the United States’ position, particularly in the context of an accelerating AI race.
Critics argue that this activist ecosystem is now strategically targeting America’s AI infrastructure and industrial capabilities. This development, experts warn, could potentially undermine the United States in its technological competition with China.
The growing overlap in activism increasingly includes communist and Islamist movements. This has recently extended to campaigns aimed at America’s artificial intelligence data centers. Environmental and activist groups have been instrumental in delaying or blocking numerous such projects, collectively valued in the billions of dollars.
These campaigns are often framed around concerns regarding energy consumption, water usage, and environmental impact, especially in light of rising power demands.
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“Climate change was also one of those very trendy causes to protest for or against, and now there’s always this quest to find what is the next thing to revolutionize,” stated Riboua, an expert specializing in anti-West ideological movements. She further added, “And this revolution against the United States is always welcome, no matter what type of forms and shapes it takes.”
Riboua, whose expertise includes China’s influence in the Middle East, warned that the overlap between climate activists, anti-Israel protesters, communists, and Islamists is driven by a broader anti-American worldview. She described this ideology as “Third Worldism.”
This ideology, according to Riboua, divides the world into “oppressors” and “oppressed.” It consistently casts the United States and the West as the primary sources of global problems, thereby uniting unrelated activist causes under a shared anti-Western framework.
“Third Worldism drives anti-Americanism because the goal of Third Worldism is basically dismantling a cohesive Western society or Western country,” Riboua explained.
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Brenda Shaffer, an energy expert and research faculty member at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, characterized the broader activist convergence as part of a “red-green-green alliance.” This alliance represents an ideological overlap among three distinct elements: communist movements (symbolized by red), Islamist activism (symbolized by green), and environmental protest groups (also symbolized by green).
Shaffer noted that these groups are increasingly uniting around anti-West and anti-American causes. This trend has become more evident as activist groups rapidly shift their focus from one issue to another, moving from climate protests to anti-Israel demonstrations and now towards campaigns targeting AI infrastructure and data centers.
The visible overlap is also apparent on the streets. At the 2024 “Climate Justice Means Free Palestine” rally in New York City, climate activists and pro-Palestinian demonstrators were observed protesting side-by-side.
“There’s always this quest to find what is the next thing to revolutionize,” Riboua reiterated, highlighting the dynamic nature of these movements.
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Riboua pointed to Greta Thunberg’s transition into a vocal anti-Israel activist as a prime example of the increasing ideological overlap between climate activism and broader anti-Western protest movements.
“Greta is not an Islamist, and I think that she never read Karl Marx, but she has all the good instincts of a revolutionary against the evil oppressor, Westerner, and the United States,” Riboua commented on Thunberg’s activism.
Shaffer expressed concern that this growing convergence is increasingly impacting industries that are critical to America’s economic and technological competition with China.
Shaffer argued that while activist groups in the West focus their efforts on targeting fossil fuels, AI infrastructure, and industrial development, China continues its rapid expansion of coal production, manufacturing capacity, and energy generation.
“So we’re truly by adopting international climate policies, we’re weakening the West,” Shaffer stated. She elaborated, “China really benefits from these policies that we adopt and we just let them keep forging ahead with coal.”
Shaffer drew a parallel between the current trend and Soviet-backed anti-nuclear activism during the Cold War. She suggested that adversarial powers have historically leveraged anti-energy movements in the West to their advantage.
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“You saw traditionally the Soviet Union funding movements against nuclear energy in Europe so that Europe would remain dependent on Soviet and later Russian gas,” Shaffer recalled, referencing historical patterns.
She also cautioned that increasing Western reliance on Chinese renewable-energy supply chains could create new strategic vulnerabilities. This is due to China’s dominant position in significant segments of the global solar and inverter markets.
Shaffer emphasized that many activist campaigns are focused on delaying or blocking energy and infrastructure projects within the United States. Meanwhile, China is rapidly expanding its coal consumption and industrial production, she noted.
Riboua added that many individuals participating in these protests may not be driven by deep ideological convictions. Instead, they might be influenced by simplified narratives amplified through social media clickbait and activist messaging.
“Some people are generally good people and they want to have a moral position,” she said. “They know headlines … there’s a lot of ignorance.”
Shaffer warned that artificial intelligence infrastructure necessitates enormous amounts of reliable electricity. She cautioned that the West risks falling behind China if energy costs continue to rise and infrastructure projects persist in facing activist opposition.
“You can’t have an arms industry built on solar energy,” Shaffer concluded, highlighting the practical limitations.
