Just Stop Oil supporters are slow marching on the streets of central London, demanding that the UK Government halt all licences and consents for new oil, gas and coal projects. [1]
From 4:30pm, around 38 Just Stop Oil supporters, in two groups, began marching along Marylebone Road and at the Aldwych. Just Stop Oil has been marching six days a week since April 24th.
One of those taking action today, Rhiannon Wood, 28 a countryside ranger from Southampton, said:
“I’m taking action because my sister is raising a family, and I want her children to grow up feeling safe and optimistic about their lives. I don’t want them and countless others to grow up in a world plagued by food scarcity caused by drought, extreme heat and weather events.”
“At the current rate, we are going to smash past irreversible tipping points that threaten life as we know it. The extremist zealots running this country are knowingly taking us on a course of action that threatens the lives of hundreds of millions, whilst completely swindling all of us. Our only option is to get on the streets. Go to https://juststopoil.org/ and sign up to slow march.”
Also on the road, Genevieve Shanahan, 33, a university lecturer in management, from London, said:
“I teach sustainability in a business school, but my students can plainly see that ‘sustainable business’ is not viable as long as there remain profits to be made from exacerbating the climate crisis. The government needs to take decisive action to align economic incentives with the reality of the danger we face.”
The marches today come as the outgoing chair of the UK Climate Change Committee, the UK’s most senior climate adviser and former Conservative environment secretary, Lord Deben, has strongly endorsed Labour’s vow to halt new oil and gas exploration, calling it “the right thing to do.” He said: “I’m sorry this is not a common view to all parties, I don’t understand how the government can ask other people not to produce more oil [while supporting new oil and gas licences in the North Sea]. That’s exactly what they are doing now – asking other people not to do what they’re doing.” [2]
Since the Just Stop Oil campaign launched on 14th February 2022, there have been 2,200 arrests and 138 people have spent time in prison, many without trial. There are currently two Just Stop Oil supporters serving three year prison sentences for resisting new oil, gas and coal.
We stand with these political prisoners, with the 1,800 victims of the UK’s broken criminal justice system, imprisoned for over a year without trial, and with the 1,700 murdered across the global south, for protecting all our lives. Ordinary people must come together to resist this criminal government and hold them to account for their genocidal policies. [3][4]
Just Stop Oil is calling on everyone to get off the sidelines and join in civil resistance against new oil, gas and coal.
The time is now. Join us and slow march while you still can. Our indefinite campaign of civil resistance is underway and will not end until our government makes a meaningful statement halting new fossil fuel projects in the UK.
Join Just Stop Oil on a slow march at midday every Saturday, at Parliament Square until we win.
ENDS
Press contact: 07762 987334
Press email: [email protected]
High quality images & video here:https://juststopoil.org/press-media
Website: https://juststopoil.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JustStopOil/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/just.stopoil/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustStop_Oil
Youtube: https://juststopoil.org/youtube
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.
Just Stop Oil ‘Blue Lights’ policy: our policy is, and has always been, to move out of the way for emergency vehicles with siren sounding and ‘blue lights’ on.
[3] Fair Trials reports that the number of people being held in prison without trial in England and Wales is at its highest for over 50 years, with 1,800 people in prison without trial for at least a year. https://www.fairtrials.org/articles/news/highest-number-of-people-on-remand-in-england-and-wales-for-over-50-years/
[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. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/press-releases/deadly-decade-land-and-environmental-activists-killing-every-two-days/
