'The same fossil fuel corporations driving the climate crisis and blocking a just transition are those funnelling Israel the oil it needs for its war machine: all to secure their profits.'
In what is the first major climate justice mobilisation under the new Labour government, activists from more than 60 organisations are gathering in London today – November 16 – to demand the government ends reliance on fossil fuels, pays up for climate finance, and ends its “complicity in Israel’s escalating genocidal violence.”
War on Want, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Amnesty International UK, Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil, Fossil Free London, and Greenpeace, are just several of the organisation supporting the March for Global Climate Justice movement.
The protest is being held as world leaders meet in Baku, Azerbaijan, for COP29. The decision to host the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, the world’s most important climate change conference, in Azerbaijan is controversial, as the country is a major producer of gas and oil. It is also an authoritarian state, and the 500-hectare Sea Breeze complex where guests are staying, belongs to Emin Agalarov, the former son-in-law of Azerbaijan’s authoritarian president, Ilham Aliyev. The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) reports, government procurement records show that he received a $5.2-million government contract to host COP29 guests, without any competitive tender process.
The March for Global Climate Justice is being organised by the Climate Justice Coalition, which campaigns for building solidarity and power for climate justice.
The protesters are gathering at 12pm at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, London. The meeting place is strategic, given that the British Museum announced a £50m partnership deal with BP in November 2023. The Climate Justice Coalition describes how “amidst the ongoing genocide in Palestine, BP has been profiting of the transport and sales of oil to Israel. The British Museum is core to BP’s social licence to operate, allowing it to greenwash its climate and colonial crimes by appearing to be in service of the arts – all while drilling for new oil and gas.”
The demonstration will walk past the SOCAR office. The campaigners explain how SOCAR is Azerbaijan’s national oil company and is expanding exploration and extraction projects alongside foreign oil companies like Eni and ADNOC. COP29’s President Mukhtar Babayev previously held the role of Vice-President for Ecology at SOCAR.
The march will end on Downing Street.
The Climate Justice Coalition warns how at COP29, the UK government will make claims to climate leadership.
“But these will ring hollow if Prime Minister Starmer continues to funnel public money into militarism, war and fossil fuel projects.
“The same fossil fuel corporations driving the climate crisis and blocking a just transition are those funnelling Israel the oil it needs for its war machine: all to secure their profits. If we’re to have any hope of a liveable planet, we must divest from war and destruction – and invest in a just, ecological and equitable transition,” say the climate activists.
Image credit: Green New Deal Rising – X screen grab
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