In the early hours of the morning, Extinction Rebellion UK and groups in the Just Stop Oil Coalition have blocked 10 major oil facilities across the UK.
Extinction Rebellion is blocking the Esso West Terminal near Heathrow Airport, and the Hamble and Hythe Terminals in Southampton.
Scores of people sat in the road to block oil tankers from leaving each site, while others climbed on top of oil tankers.
Clare Farrell, co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, said:“Today the climate movement is asking you to pay attention, to join the dots on environmental destruction, the peril faced by our world family and the gross profiteering that is trying to cancel the future of humanity.
“The dots are being joined for us all in the current context, from the wars fuelled by fossil fuel money, the blatant global racism on show in the response to the refugee crises, the exacerbating inequalities in the cost of living crisis, and energy companies shamelessly making record profits from the plight of the ordinary person. It’s predicted that in just a matter of months 1 in 4 people in the UK will be unable to pay their energy bills. The Gillet Jaune had a catchphrase – end of the month, end of the world, same struggle.
“It is now clear in the UK too, we’re being ripped off, our future is being burned, sold, decimated and all the while our government sits back doing nothing to help ordinary people. Enough of the lies, deceit and deadly political failure. Only a few months ago our leaders were crying in Glasgow because they had failed the world, now they are seeking to bend the rules of physics to meet their political project and give oil and gas companies a pass. We know it won’t work, and it’s too late for denial and delay.”
Rev Helen Burnett from Extinction Rebellion, said: “Compared to the horrific bloodshed in Ukraine, the fight for 1.5˚C may seem abstract, but it is, in reality, all too real. It is the fight for all those on the frontline of the climate crisis, in particular our children and our young people and the majority of the world’s population in the Global South. It is the fight for a peaceful and organised international community, it is the fight for the story of humanity and the fight for all those whom we love.
“We, the general public of the UK, are strong and resilient in times of crisis and will be ready to pull together to support each other as we roll up our sleeves and chip in to do our bit to make the change we need.But people deserve to have a say in what comes next. As the government is unwilling to do the right thing, ordinary people should be given a say in how we transition away from fossil fuels. That’s why XR calls for a Citizen’s Assembly. Your next door neighbour or your local shop keeper participating in a Citizen’s Assembly would be far more trustworthy than this government.”
