Last month, the infamous “Oil and Money” conference (formally known as the Energy Intelligence Forum) was successfully brought to a temporary halt as a result of action undertaken by a collaboration of groups that included CCA, Extinction Rebellion (XR) and Fossil Fuel London (FFL).
On the first day of the Forum, activists glued themselves to the road and to the revolving door of the Intercontinental Park Hotel where the conference was being held to stop delegates from getting in. Greta Thunberg gave a speech – she was later arrested – and Greenpeace also dropped a banner from the roof.
The annual Forum is one of the biggest oil conferences in the world, attended by the likes of Shell, Total, BP, Exxon, JP Morgan, Bank of America and Government to plan ongoing expansion of fossil fuel production. This year, the Forum claimed to have a new agenda addressing “climate change
and the energy transition” and promising a frank conversation around the question “How does a divided world power the planet in a way that is reliable, affordable and clean?”
Other Oily Money Out actions during the week included:
CCA peacefully occupying the building of the Chaucer insurance company alongside scientists from XR. They were demanding that Chaucer rule out insuring the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) and the West Cumbria coal mine. CCA sung, prayed and broke bread together. In total, the offices of ten insurers who haven’t ruled out insuring the giant oil pipeline were occupied.
On the last day of the conference, CCA also joined with FFL at the offices of the banking giants Barclays and JP Morgan at Canary Wharf, and there was a die-in (where activists simulate the bodies of those who have died as a result of the impacts of
climate crisis) outside the conference venue. The actions were supported with ongoing prayer including a candlelit vigil on the eve of the Forum and a multifaith prayer vigil with XR Faith Bridge, both held outside the Intercontinental.
The three days of action, particularly – not surprisingly – Greta’s arrest, generated significant media coverage, including national secular media and the Church Times.
Christian Climate Action 