The group aims to lobby the British government to commit to ending new fossil fuel licensing and production using civil resistance, nonviolent direct action, traffic obstruction, and vandalism.
On 21 March, one supporter stopped play at a football match at Goodison Park in Liverpool when he ran onto the pitch and cable tied himself to a goalpost by his neck.
[24] Beginning on 1 April, they carried out England-wide blockades of ten critical oil facilities, intending to cut off the supply of petrol to South East England.
[35][36][37] On 3 July, a group of Just Stop Oil supporters walked onto the track at the 2022 British Grand Prix after the race had been suspended due to a crash on the opening lap and sat down on the asphalt.
Formula One drivers Sergio Pérez, Lewis Hamilton, and Carlos Sainz said they supported the protestors' cause but that they should not have put themselves at risk of physical harm.
[41] They covered the painting with a printed illustration that reimagined The Hay Wain as an "apocalyptic vision of the future" that depicted "the climate collapse and what it will do to this landscape".
[42] A group of supporters glued themselves to the frame of a copy of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper painting at the Royal Academy of Arts on 5 July.
[44] On 14 October, two Just Stop Oil protesters, Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland, threw tomato soup at the fourth version of Vincent van Gogh's 1888 work, The Arles Sunflowers, in the National Gallery, and then glued their hands to the wall below the painting before delivering a verbal statement.
Just Stop Oil staged 32 days of disruption from the end of September and throughout October, which the Metropolitan Police said resulted in 677 arrests with 111 people charged.
[80][81] Also on 17 October, the group spray-painted the exterior of an Aston Martin car showroom on Park Lane, prompting criticism from Richard Hammond.
[88] On 31 October, activists targeted buildings used by the Home Office, MI5, the Bank of England and News Corp, spraying orange paint on each and demanding an end to new oil and gas licences.
[91][92] In November, 57-year-old Jan Goodey from Brighton was jailed for six months after pleading guilty to intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance after taking part in this protest.
[94][95] These sentences were among the harshest ever handed down for peaceful protest in the UK, sparking widespread criticism from various quarters, including Amnesty International[95] and the UN special rapporteur on environmental defenders Michel Forst said that the outcome "should shock the conscience of any member of the public".
[96] On 17 April, during evening sessions at the 2023 World Snooker Championship, two protesters attempted to climb onto two tables at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, disrupting first-round matches between Robert Milkins and Joe Perry and between Mark Allen and Fan Zhengyi.
[97] Protesters forced a stoppage at the 27 May Rugby Premiership final between Saracens and Sale Sharks by invading the pitch and throwing orange paint powder on the field.
[106] On 21 July, during the 151st Open Championship at Hoylake, 4 protesters attempted to disrupt play, by running onto the 17th hole, setting off a flare, and throwing orange powder onto the green.
Just Stop Oil made statements calling the incident "Confettigate" and highlighting Osborne's environmental record during his stint as Chancellor.
[113] On 21 July, a traffic disruption organised by Just Stop Oil in Acton, London during rush hour went viral for preventing a mother with a newborn child from driving to the hospital.
[116][117][118] On 15 October, three protesters disrupted a Tekken 7 tournament at EGX London by smearing and spraying orange paint on the competitors' computer monitors and the overhead display, demanding "that the UK government immediately cease all new licencing for coal, oil, and gas".
[121] On 26 October, consultant gastroenterologist Will Stableforth and physiotherapist Steve Fay were arrested and taken into custody after spraying a reproduction Titanosaur skeleton orange at London's Natural History Museum.
[125] On 27 March, Just Stop Oil posted a video on Twitter showing protester Phoebe Plummer breaking her bail by delivering a letter to what the organisation claimed was the house of Labour Party politician Wes Streeting.
Reverend Dr Sue Parfitt, 82, and Judy Bruce, an 85-year-old retired biology teacher, broke the glass container around the document with a hammer and chisel.
[127][128][129][130] On 7 June, two women protestors sprayed orange powder paint into the air from within the crowd gathered outside of Chester Cathedral for the wedding of Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster and Olivia Henson.
Leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer called the defacement "outrageous" while deeming Just Stop Oil as "pathetic", demanding that the activists and anyone else involved with the act "face the full force of the law".
[142] Archaeologist Mike Pitts expressed his strong concern over the potential damage, and said that the megaliths were fenced off and guarded to protect their surfaces, which were entirely covered in prehistoric markings that have not been fully analyzed.
[143][144] Conversely, Sarah Kerr, a lecturer in archaeology at University College Cork, said that the effects of climate change pose a much greater threat to Stonehenge than cornflour, writing, "if you worry about damage to British heritage you should listen to Just Stop Oil".
[151] The message refers to the news in December 2024 that the Copernicus Climate Change Service confirmed that 2024 was the first year that the average temperature exceeded 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.
[153] On 14 June 2023, the British Government gave the police additional powers to tackle slow-walking protests by Just Stop Oil who have used the tactic to bring traffic to a standstill.
[154] In response to a proposed update to the Public Order Act, the group vowed to continue protesting as long as capital punishment is not imposed against them.
[156] Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley suggested that Just Stop Oil was being "much less assertive" in its protests following the arrests of some suspected prominent members of the group.