Five Just Stop Oil supporters have caused disruption on the M25 in three places by climbing on the gantries that support overhead signs, forcing the police to close sections of the motorway. They are demanding that the government calls an immediate halt to new oil and gas projects in the UK.[1]
Earlier today Just Stop Oil released a statement declaring our intention to cause disruption on the M25 in response to the news that UK temperatures rose above 40C for the first time ever yesterday. [2]
Cressida Gethin, 20, a student from Herefordshire said:
“I am terrified by the extreme heat in the UK this week, knowing that this will only get worse as we continue to extract and burn more and more fossil fuels. This country has the technology and money to begin a just and rapid transition immediately using renewable energy, insulation and cheap public transport, but our government refuses to do so. I feel it is my duty as a human being to demand change in a way that cannot be ignored.”
“Thousands of people in the UK will die this week as a result of the extreme temperatures we are experiencing. We are in this situation because of our use of fossil fuels. Against this backdrop, the UK government plans to open forty new oil and gas fields in the North Sea this Autumn. I am dumbfounded by their negligence.”
Abigail Percy-Ratcliff, 23, a student from Glasgow said
I joined Just Stop Oil because I was worried about my future, about my sister’s future, but I think a lot of us have realised this week that we’re not talking about the future, we’re talking about now. It was 40 degrees this week, and thousands of deaths are predicted across the country due to the heat. The government will not stop pushing fossil fuels; we have to stop them.
Louise Lancaster, 56, a former teacher and mother of three from Cambridge said:
“The world is burning, it’s got to be obvious now to the people of this country, you have been lied to, fobbed off by the government and media fuelled by the oil barons and their greed. We have a serious, serious emergency; action needs to be taken. The government must not licence 40 new oil fields. The government must take swift action to stand by its climate pledges and protect the future for our young people. ”
Emma Mani, 45, an Environmental Consultant and mother of two from Berkhamsted said:
“I’ve lived much of my life in India. My children grew up there. Now I can’t live in the country I call home as I fear for my children’s future there. Temperatures are hitting 50 degrees in the global south. I can’t live a life here in the UK with integrity, knowing I am doing nothing to save the billion people I have left behind.
“We, the people, the public, ordinary people like me, now have the privilege to stand up for our survival. You’ve experienced 40. Are you ready for 50? The UK is on fire. Our house is on fire, but you didn’t listen then. Listen now. Take action. Your government doesn’t give a fuck. I Don’t want to do this. I have no choice. But our children have the right to survive beyond 2050”
We are working in coalition with other groups to escalate civil resistance to force a government response. We are all in this together and we have all been betrayed. We need everyone now, to step up and take action. Join us on 23rd July for a march and sit down in Westminster along with thousands of ordinary people from the progressive labour movement, faith communities, charities, social institutions and environmental groups to help create mass civil resistance with We All Want to Just Stop Oil.
Every person counts, every person can take us one step closer to winning the fight of our lives. Join a weekly Zoom call, Tuesdays at 7pm. Register here: https://juststopoil.org/zoom/
ENDS
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Notes to Editors
[1] M25 Locations
- Heathrow: 2 signs at Poyle Interchange, between J14 + J15, northbound
- Cobham: just before Junction 10, eastbound
- Dartford: between Queen Elizabeth Bridge northbound and J30.
About Just Stop Oil
Just Stop Oil is a coalition of groups working together to demand that the government immediately halt all future licensing and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK.
We must urgently end our reliance on fossil fuels to avoid irreversible changes in the earth’s climate system. We cannot continue to burn fossil fuels in the belief that future developments in carbon capture and storage and other so-called “unicorn technologies” will allow us to suck vast quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The UK must begin this process immediately. It starts by calling a halt to any further fossil fuel projects on the UK Continental Shelf. That would give us eight years of fossil fuel production left in which to rapidly transition to a zero carbon economy.
Everyone knows we have to engage in massive changes. Just Stop Oil is a coalition of groups demanding the no-brainer things be done immediately – actions that will reduce the demand for fossil fuel energy dramatically such as insulating our homes, rethinking how we travel, getting on with renewable energy and making sure no-one is left behind.
We either come together as humanity or we die. Youth know which they choose. They have already chosen. They are in the streets to demand a future. We are all in the streets to make sure they get it. It’s as basic as that.
Further information about Just Stop Oil and our demands here: https://www.juststopoil.org
