The goal of both is to start reducing or simply stop large scale actions that are doing damage to the environment. If peaceful protesting is being prevented or simply is just being ignored, then the next step is directly stopping things. If it’s vandalism or misdirected damage, that’s not really accomplishing the goal and can be used against activists and their message.

The caveat is that most changes either through successful protests or more direct measures will harm others at some point, but I fail to see a way around that when we live in a society where everyone is dependent in many ways on the society continuing its destructive path. The longer we wait to change, the worse it will be for more people, and at some point it won’t be protesters that cause the change, but the environment or some other factors like demand exceeding supply that cause huge suffering.