On Wednesday, hundreds of protesters occupied the City of London offices of ten Lloyd’s of London insurers, demanding that they rule out insuring the proposed West Cumbria coal mine and the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
The occupations were in collaboration with Fossil Free London’s “Oily Money Out” protest – at which Greta Thunberg was arrested yesterday - and in solidarity with Extinction Rebellion Gauteng in South Africa. Three high-profile buildings were targeted by the protests which saw the activists occupy the office foyers of Ascot, Talbot, Chaucer, Markel, Allied World, CNA Hardy, Tokio Marine Kiln, Sirius International and Lancashire Syndicates.
As part of the protest, some of the activists glued themselves to the floor while others staged a sit-in, refusing to leave the premises.
Commenting on the mass action, Claude Fourcroy, a spokesperson for Money Rebellion said: “We are calling on all the banks and insurers behind the West Cumbria mine and East Africa Crude Oil Pipelines to cut their ties now. Both of these projects will fuel climate breakdown. Lloyd’s of London and the insurers in its market sit at the centre of a web of climate wreckers in the City of London, alongside Barclays and HSBC.”
Community members from Cumbria and Uganda joined the protest, voicing their opposition to insurers and banks underwriting the aforementioned fossil fuel projects. A Press release from Money Rebellion noted that neither project will be able to go ahead without financial and insurance backing.
Andrew Taylor from the Coal Action Network also commented on the occupation and said: “West Cumbria Mining Ltd wants to dig coal here right up until 2049 - when we’re supposed to have reached net zero by 2050. They’re not looking at the impact of how burning it would damage the climate and nature. The UK government talks about us having energy security but the truth is, if the mine goes ahead, 85% of the coal would be exported.”
Patience, a youth activist from Fridays for Future Uganda said: “We have gathered here today to demand that insurers cut ties with EACOP. By supporting this deadly fossil fuel project they undermine any climate commitments they have made. People in Uganda are facing human rights violations in the name of this project. This has to end.”
Joanna Warrington, a campaigner with Fossil Free London said: "We can’t allow London to welcome the climate-wrecking elite when droughts, floods, and wildfires rage across the world. London's banks and finance sector have been ignoring all the warning signs while pouring billions into fossil fuel expansion. Their profit is our loss. Financing new fossil fuel developments is incompatible with a safe future."
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