Just Stop Oil supporters have stopped traffic at a key road junction at Islington Green to demand that the government halts all new oil and gas licences and consents. [1]
At 12:00pm today, around 20 Just Stop Oil supporters walked onto Upper Street and Islington Green and disrupted traffic by sitting in the road with banners. Some supporters glued onto the tarmac and others used locked ons.
Pia Baas, 28, from London said:
“I am taking action because it is my civic duty. I could no longer sit still and watch the world around me being torn apart, with millions suffering for the benefit of the few. Direct action is a necessity because marching and protests have achieved nothing. I have no future if we can’t grow food and find water to drink.
“Liz Truss wanted 100 new oil and gas licenses. These cannot be granted because they are a death sentance. The moratorium on fracking cannot be lifted: it will decimate communities and destroy everything people love about this country. The transition to renewable energy and genuine sustainability needs to happen now. I have absolute faith that we can make this happen if we join in civil resistance together. “
Sam Griffiths, 47, a dad and designer from London said:
“I started this when we hit 40°C for the first time ever in this country. It scared me and the lack of response from the media and Government scared me even more. I knew I had to step up and take action. I’m doing this for my boy. The Government’s toxic policies are trashing his future and that of all our children. We need to stop all new fossil fuel licenses. The state is corrupt and is actively destroying our stable climate and with that our future. It’s our duty to resist it and stand up for what is right.”
Just Stop Oil continues to peacefully resist Liz Truss’s bankrupt plans to licence over 100 new oil and gas projects by 2025, and her abject failure to genuinely help people with their skyrocketing energy bills. These policy failures will cause misery for millions and must be abandoned. Almost 8 million households are expected to fall into fuel poverty by April 1st 2023. [2]
Today’s roadblock follows over two weeks of continuous civil resistance by supporters of Just Stop Oil during which the police have made 554 arrests, including 15 on Thursday. Since the campaign began on April 1st, Just Stop Oil supporters have been arrested over 1,800 times, with 7 supporters currently in prison. [3]
This is not a one day event, expect us every day and anywhere. This is an act of resistance against a criminal government and their genocidal death project. Our supporters will be returning – today, tomorrow and the next day – and the next day after that – and every day until our demand is met: no new oil and gas in the UK.
We will not be intimidated by changes to the law, we will not be stopped by private injunctions sought to silence peaceful people. Our supporters understand that these are irrelevant when set against mass starvation, slaughter, the loss of our rights, freedoms and communities. [4]
Stand with our supporters in prison, with the 1,700 murdered across the global south, for protecting all our lives. We will not die silently, it will be ordinary people, like you, your friends, colleagues and neighbours who do what our government cannot. It will take all of us. [5]
ENDS
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Notes to Editors
[1] 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. Just Stop Oil is a member of the A22 Network of civil resistance projects. Climate Emergency Fund is Just Stop Oil’s primary funder for recruitment, training, and capacity building.
[2] https://www.endfuelpoverty.org.uk/news/
[3] There are now 7 Just Stop Oil supporters in prison on remand or serving sentences for taking action to demand that the government halts new oil and gas licences. They are Joshua Smith, Louis McKechnie, Simon Milner-Edwards, Margaret Reid, Michelle Charlesworth, Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker. Also in prison are Madelaine Budd for the ‘Captain Tom’ action, Scott Breen for taking action against the Southampton to Heathrow pipeline and Elliott Cuciurean for taking action against HS2
[4] A recent report from Global Witness says that more than 1,700 people have died while trying to prevent mining, oil drilling or logging on their lands.
