Three Just Stop Oil Supporters have disrupted the The British Open. They are demanding the UK government halt all new licences and consents for oil, gas and coal projects. [1]
At around 12:20pm, three Just Stop Oil supporters ran onto hole seventeen at the The Open in Royal Liverpool. They set off a smoke flare and threw orange powder paint on the green, before being removed by security.
One of those taking action today is Hailey Birch, 19, a university student from Leicestershire. She said:
“We’re on course for collapse! This week we have witnessed some of the dire consequences of our addiction to fossil fuels, with extreme heat warnings issued over three continents, putting countless people at risk of illness and death.”
“Yet the government is still granting new oil and gas licences. How many more children fleeing wildfires do we need to see before we do something? This is not the world I want to live in and I will not be complicit in allowing this government to carry on with their genocidal policies. For all we love, we must Just Stop Oil”.
Another of those taking action today is Noah Crane, 18, a community coordinator from Buxton, he said:
“I’m disrupting the open today, not because I want to, but as a young person, I feel I have no other choice. This government is knowingly taking action that will kill hundreds of millions of people and destroy my future. They have made it clear that they value the profits of the few over the lives of the many. So now we must make it clear that we will not stand for that; that we will not roll over and allow them to sell our lives to line their pockets.”
“Climate scientists are telling us the development of new oil, gas and coal projects will be beyond disastrous for humanity. This is not a situation where we can just sit back and hope someone else sorts it out for us; the stakes are too high.”
Today’s action comes as scientists warn that successive heatwaves threaten nature’s ability to provide us with food. “Our food system is global,” said John Marsham, professor of atmospheric science at the University of Leeds. “There are growing risks of simultaneous major crop losses in different regions in the world, which will really affect food availability and prices. This is not what we’re seeing right now, but in the coming decades that’s one of the things I’m really scared of.”
The 2018 European heatwave led to multiple crop failures and loss of yield of up to 50% in central and northern Europe. Heatwaves are expected to become 12 times more frequent by 2040 compared with pre-warming levels.
Marsham said: “People are generally isolated from the effects of the weather on which we all depend. We go to shops to buy food – we don’t grow it ourselves. But if you talk to farmers anywhere in the world, they are extremely aware of what the weather is doing, and the impacts on their farming.” [2]
Since the Just Stop Oil campaign launched on 14th February 2022, there have been over 2,350 arrests and 138 people have spent time in prison, many without trial. There are currently three Just Stop Oil supporters imprisoned for demanding an end to new oil, gas and coal.
It’s time to get off the sidelines and join in civil resistance to end new oil, gas and coal. We are inviting everyone to come and march with us every day in London from the 16th-22nd July. Sign up for action at juststopoil.org.
Just Stop Oil is gathering evidence and details of the crimes perpetrated by climate criminals. Fossil fuel executives, bankers, ministers, officials, and members of the legal and media professions who order, administrate, or facilitate the exploitation of new oil and gas resources, or who conspire to prosecute those taking action to prevent the greatest act of mass murder in human history, will be held responsible for their actions.
To those who wish to help gather evidence or discuss the issues arising in a safe online space, please email: [email protected]
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.
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.
