For over a year and a half, CCA’s Judith has been carrying out a lone protest vigil outside of Shell HQ in Waterloo London. Every Wednesday morning she sits outside the entrance to the building, with a sign and prays. The employees that work in the building have come to know her and the protest is a persistent reminder to those entering that their work is leading to an inhabitable world.

If you’d like to join Judith, email christianclimateaction@gmail.com and we’ll put you in touch

Below are some of Judith’s musings or reflections from her lone vigils

4/12/2024: Shell is suing Greenpeace. Their demand is that either Greenpeace stops protesting about what Shell is doing to our shared environment – and that would be a ban anywhere and at any future time – or pays $1.7 million dollars in damages (plus costs) in relation to an action Greenpeace took in 2022 when they occupied a Shell oil platform in the North Sea. In terms of financial clout, Shell far outweighs Greenpeace. When we hold our vigil outside Shell’s HQ there is that same sense of smallness. Will our presence make any impact upon the powers inside the building? Does Shell pay any attention to the small voices of all those adversely affected by climate change, and all those fearful of a dangerous and unpredictable future?
Whilst we were there two black cars drew up, their occupants so ‘important ‘ that until Shell’s doors were opened, they did not move – and only then when the chauffeurs open the car doors did they step out and smartly enter the building. One car had diplomatic plates, the other a number plate that began ‘EGY’.
Will climate activists ever be invited to speak with those inside the upper echelons of Shell’s hierarchy?

28/11/2024: Heavy overnight rain was still falling as I left home and its accumulation was spilling halfway across the south circular as drains failed to cope. This is how floods start! The rain seemed to have deterred workers too and there was a noticeable dearth both of those going into Shell’s HQ and those going past on their way to other destinations. The thought of flooding with me as I recalled images from over the weekend of floods – and landslides – in the Welsh Valleys, in the Cotswolds, in Northampton. At Waterloo station they were announcing delays and cancellations because of too much water on the line! And I wondered if people would now change their attitudes towards the closeness and severity of the climate crisis? Would they ‘rethink their options’? Would the government ‘rethink their options’? Would they fast track the CAN Bill and ensure that they were not just talking but acting as if this crisis was real and urgent (which it is!!) Would they remove subsidies that would shift the oil industry?

13/11/2024: What joy! This week the sun has been shining! Also produces a friendly smile from the security guard. Mix of positive – thumbs up,a ping of a cycle bell, or a straightforward ‘Thank you’ – and negative – the weekly ‘Get a job.’ After our Shell vigil we repair to the local Gail’s for breakfast. While we’re finishing off our coffees one of the staff from the bakery section presents us with a chocolate chip cookie and a message ‘It’s a small gift, I hope you enjoy it’ to say thank you for what we’re doing.

06/11/2024: Sitting outside the monolith of the Shell Building, it is easy to feel that that is the nature of the fossil fuel industry – an impenetrable closed shop of profit, money and power which will never change. Later, outside Parliament, there seemed to be an unusually large number of school parties walking by – some with red balloon and the text ‘Debate Mate’. As one class walk past, the teacher instructed her children: “Keep looking ahead; they (ie our vigilant) have nothing of interest for us!” Later still on the train home, a young lad (first year at secondary school?) asked about my pink CCA flag. He was genuinely interested in what I had been doing all day. I gave him a CAN Bill leaflet and we talked about MPs and parliament, the role of the government and members’ bills, and the age at which you can vote. Being open to learning about the world around is always important! And if we share what we know about the climate crisis when often people have only a limited access to such information, then we can break