Yasmin Rufo - BBC News
Thu, October 19, 2023
Activists have blocked the entrance of JP Morgan's Canary Wharf office
Greta Thunberg has joined a protest outside JP Morgan to demand the bank stops funding fossil fuel projects.
The Swedish climate activist is taking part in the Fossil Free London action at the bank's office in Canary Wharf.
The activists have blocked the entrance to the bank by sitting on the pavement, chanting "oily money out" and waving yellow flags and banners.
It follows a protest on Tuesday in Park Lane where oil executives had gathered for the Energy Intelligence Forum.
Ms Thunberg, 20, was arrested at that demonstration and charged with a public order offence. A further 26 people were charged.
Who is Greta Thunberg and what has she achieved?
Fossil Free London says JP Morgan has been a major source of funding for fossil fuel projects since the Paris Agreement, when governments agreed to try to limit global average temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
One campaigner said: "They are making billions of profit every year at a time of worsening inequality when so much of the world is being devastated by the climate crisis.
"We think there should be no new fossil fuel investment or financing from JP Morgan and we think that some of their billions of profits should go towards loss and damage to the communities affected by climate change and provide the financing for adaptation and mitigation measures."
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Greta Thunberg UNFAZED During Arrest Following Oil Protest In London
Afouda Bamidele
THE BLAST
Wed, October 18, 2023
Wed, October 18, 2023
Greta Thunberg continues to prove she is not afraid to fight for the environment even when the law is against her!
The environmental activist took the world by storm in 2018 at 15 when she held the first "School Strike for Climate" outside the Swedish parliament. Five years later, the Stockholm native remains steadfast in her mission to save our planet and recently faced off with authorities in London without breaking a sweat.
Greta Thunberg Seen Smiling Following Arrest On Public Order Offense Charge
The Swedish activist joined other aggrieved protesters outside the InterContinental Hotel on Park Lane, which hosted an oil industry summit. However, the 20-year-old's mission to influence the minds of these corporate bodies did not go as planned.
In a viral footage of her arrest shared on YouTube, the climate change advocate was seen rocking a badge with the slogan "Oily Money Out." Thunberg remained calm despite being flanked on both sides by police officers, who spoke to the young activist.
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Although their conversation was inaudible, the media personality looked unfazed by the situation, showing zero resistance when being led to the police van. Other protesters could be heard screaming "Well done" and "Thank you, Greta" alongside other words of encouragement while authorities tried to keep the crowd away from the vehicle.
Thunberg flashed her supporters a warm smile, proving her will to fight against environmental destruction would not be broken by her arrest. Before cops rained on the Stockholm native's parade, she bravely stood on a podium outside the InterContinental Hotel, calling oil executives to change their detrimental practices. In the climate activist's words:
"Behind these closed doors at the oil and money conference, spineless politicians are making deals and compromises with lobbyists from destructive industries, the fossil fuel industry."
"People all over the world are suffering and dying from the consequences of the climate crisis caused by these industries who we allow to meet with our politicians and have privileged access to," Thunberg claimed, stressing the dire state of the world.
"The world is drowning in fossil fuels. Our hopes and dreams and lives are being washed away by a flood of greenwashing and lies. It has been clear for decades that the fossil fuel industries were well aware of the consequences of their business models, and yet, they have done nothing," the 20-year-old lamented.
According to the environmental advocate, the oil industries have done the opposite over the years by delaying, distracting, and denying the causes of the climate crisis. Additionally, these companies "spread doubts about their own engagement in it."
Inside Greta Thunberg's Rise To Fame As A Climate Change Activist
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As stated, the Nobel Peace Prize nominee's name took over the world in 2018 following her "School Strike for Climate" movement. The then 15-year-old activist held a solo protest outside the Swedish parliament to call for more action against climate change.
To Thunberg's surprise, her move sparked the involvement of more students in the fight against climate change. These children skipped school every Friday to protest, labeling their movement “Fridays for Future.” The protest gained millions of participants, making Thunberg an international name.
Over the years, the Stockholm native's activism has earned her numerous recognitions, including being named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year in 2019. She has also received three nominations for a Nobel Peace Prize.
One of her most remarkable feats might be the arrest of the infamous misogynist Andrew Tate. In 2022, during a heated exchange between the duo on social media, the former professional kickboxer unwittingly shared a video of himself eating pizza and smoking.
However, his clapback at Thunberg's criticisms of his car emissions helped the Romanian police discover his location in their country. Following the media personality's arrest, the Stockholm native fired back: "This is what happens when you don’t recycle your pizza boxes."
Oily Money Out: Greta Thunberg charged following arrest at London oil conference protest
Lottie Limb
Wed, October 18, 2023
Oily Money Out: Greta Thunberg charged following arrest at London oil conference protest
Greta Thunberg has been charged by British police after she was arrested while protesting an oil industry conference in London yesterday.
The Swedish climate activist was detained while demonstrating with hundreds of other protesters outside the Energy Intelligence Forum, which continues today at the InterContinental London Park Lane hotel in Mayfair.
Executives of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies are meeting at the event - formerly known as the Oil and Money conference - from 17-19 October, alongside financiers and UK ministers.
"The elite of the oil and money conference have no intention of transition," Thunberg said at a press conference yesterday morning. "Their plan is to continue this destructive surge of profits. That is why we have to take direct action."
“Arrests like these will not deter us. Our right to protest is our own, it is not given to us by the government,” said Nuri Syed Corser, an organiser with Fossil Free London which is behind the ‘Oily Money Out’ campaign.
Thunberg has been released on bail with a trial set for 15 November.
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What is the Energy Intelligence Forum?
Until 2019, the event was more transparently called the Oil & Money conference. Climate campaigners say it remains “the Oscars of oil”, and are protesting the industry’s “business-as-usual” approach outside.
The conference has attracted the attention of climate campaigners before. But under the guidance of a group which has promised to make the city inhospitable for the fossil fuel industry, 2023’s event is facing even fiercer protest.
Since 1980, the conference has brought together leaders in the world of oil, gas, politics and finance to network and discuss challenges facing the energy sector. It is hosted by Energy Intelligence, a provider of energy news, data and analysis.
Under pressure in 2019 - following the withdrawal of long-term sponsor the New York Times which said the event’s subject matter “gives us cause for concern” - the summit was rebranded.
Hundreds of climate activists have gathered outside the hotel where the Energy Intelligence Forum is taking place. - Fossil Free London
“The energy industry is changing, and as our conference program has evolved in recent years to address the challenges of climate change and the energy transition, we felt that our conference needed a new identity and a new mandate,” Energy Intelligence said at the time.
This year’s event promises “a frank conversation around the central question: How does a divided world power the planet in a way that is reliable, affordable and clean?”
Speakers include the chiefs of a number of fossil fuel giants, including: Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Italian oil giant Eni, Amin Nasser, president and CEO of Saudi Aramco, one of the world’s biggest polluters, and Anders Opedal, President and CEO of Equinor, which is behind the controversial Rosebank oil field development in the UK.
The UK’s Minister of State for Energy Security and & Net Zero, Graham Stuart, will be speaking too, as will the country’s former Minister of Energy & Climate Change Charles Hendry.
Until recently, COP28 President and CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Sultan Al Jaber was also featured on the speakers list. But he now appears to have been dropped from the line-up.
COP28: EU to push for deal on phasing out 'unabated' fossil fuels at UN climate conference
Has the COP28 chair pulled out of the London conference?
Climate activists are claiming victory for the apparent withdrawal of Al Jaber from the conference, an aspect of the Energy Intelligence Forum they were particularly concerned by.
“It is beyond satire that an oil CEO has been made head of the global climate summit - the main opportunity for countries to get together and do something about climate, an opportunity that they squander every year, due to the influence of the fossil fuel industry,” says Wells.
“However we’ve had some great news in the fact that Al Jaber seems to be running scared from our protest,” adds Wells. “Apparently he can’t face this sort of accountability, just before his outing on the COP28 stage.”
Euronews Green has reached out to the Energy Intelligence Forum organisers to confirm whether Al Jaber is indeed no longer speaking, and why.
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How are activists protesting the Energy Intelligence Forum?
Under the Oily Money Out campaign, climate activists have planned three days of disruptive protests around the conference.
Big-name activists joined the first demonstration on Tuesday 17 October morning outside the luxury InterContinental hotel.
Greenpeace activists abseiled down from the roof of the hotel to unfurl a banner reading “make big oil pay."
Wednesday 18 will see another all-day protest against Rosebank oil extraction, timed to disrupt Equinor CEO Opedal, with music and speeches from high-profile activists.
And on Thursday 19 protesters will take to the streets from Marble Arch to Wellington Arch as part of a public ‘Festival of Resistance’, calling for an end to new oil and gas.
Greenpeace activists unfurl a banner reading "Make Big Oil Pay" from the roof of the InterContinental London Park Lane during the 'Oily Money Out' demonstration. - HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP
Organisers say they expect at least a few hundred people to attend, with dozens of climate groups from across Europe travelling to London; such as StopEacop from Paris, Fridays for Future Sweden and XR Brussels.
Other disruptions are being kept secret for now, Fossil Free London indicates. The organisers also planned an extensive programme of training and workshops in the three days leading up to the event, from 14 to 16 October.
Activities included protest song learning, talks from Fuel Poverty Action, BP or Not BP, Stay Grounded and Climate in Colour, and even a birdwatching walk with Feminist Bird Club.
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Who are Fossil Free London?
Fossil Free London “disrupts the oil industry where it gathers in our city, and this is a major moment for that to happen,” says Wells.
In attempting to make London inhospitable to the fossil fuel industry, the group has undertaken a range of direct actions, stunts and protests in recent months and years.
As part of its ‘Shut Down Shell’ campaign, activists disrupted the company’s AGM in May, attempting to storm the stage in front of shareholders. In June, members picketed the Shell’s HQ every weekday morning.
Oily Money Out is all about holding the oil industry accountable, says Wells.
Fossil Free London activists targeted King's Guard last month to protest the upcoming oil conference. - Fossil Free London
“The Oil and Money conference is the Oscars of oil - there’s even an awards ceremony every year which has previously been won by the [former] CEO of Shell, Ben van Beurden [Energy Executive of the Year, 2019].”
“We need to get their oily money out, and that starts with taking to the streets and making it very clear to them and to the wider population that they’re not welcome and business as usual has to change.”
In response to a request for comment, Energy Intelligence said that: "We involve all sides in this debate, as we believe that inclusive dialogue is the only way to solve the challenging questions involved in reinventing the world’s energy system.
"We are dedicated to bringing together stakeholders in the energy system - governments, companies, finance, civil society, and academia - to discuss the best way forward for the world.
"We are aware of the plans to protest, and the need for an inclusive dialogue is precisely why we host this event. The safety of everyone involved in the Forum is always our highest priority."
Wells points out that tickets to the conference cost more than £3,600 (€4,000).
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