Labour must reject the fossil fuel industry, and commit to a transformative green new deal.
Young climate activists from the Green New Deal Rising campaign group have yesterday (Monday, 9 October 2023) disrupted an event inside the Labour conference sponsored by the oil and gas lobbying organisation Offshore Energies UK, and attended by Labour’s industry and decarbonisation minister Sarah Jones.
Five young campaigners stood up during the event and called on the Labour party to revoke the Rosebank oil and gas licence in government, commit to a Green New Deal, and meet with them to discuss their demands instead of meeting with fossil fuel lobbyists.
Addressing the audience at the event, Tash, 21, said: “Labour should be protecting workers and our future, not cosying up with fossil fuel lobbyists. Keir should revoke Rosebank and cut all ties with the fossil fuel industry. Why are Labour giving a platform to the people who are destroying our future instead of meeting with us?”
Ownership
The Green New Deal Rising activists were escorted out of the event by security, and attendees at the event clapped in support of peaceful protest after they left.
Offshore Energies UK is the lobby group for the UK oil and gas industry, and represents fossil fuel companies including Shell, BP and Equinor, the company behind the recently approved Rosebank oil field off the Shetland Islands.
Green New Deal Rising have previously disrupted speeches by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves in recent months, calling out u-turns on climate and economic policies including backing down on spending 28 billion pounds per year from the first year of Parliament on the green transition and refusing to implement wealth taxes to pay for measures to tackle both the climate crisis and cost of living crisis.
The climate group have continued their campaign across Labour conference in Liverpool, including a rally on the opening Sunday morning and multiple filmed challenges of Labour MPs asking them to back green new deal policies.
Labour must reject the fossil fuel industry, and commit to a transformative green new deal.
Their green new deal demands include public ownership of energy, water and transport, a Green Jobs Guarantee and the creation of a National Nature Service.
Corporations
These would be funded by wealth taxes and taxes on fossil fuel companies and big corporations, which would also provide finance for other countries to deal with climate impacts.
Hannah Martin, co-director of Green New Deal Rising, said: “Young people have disrupted this event today to stop Labour hosting events sponsored by oil and gas lobbyists.
"There can be no new oil and gas if we’re going to stop climate change, and so Labour needs to stop cosying up to the fossil fuel industry, and instead commit to revoking the licence of the Rosebank oil and gas field and enacting a Green New Deal.
“Offshore Energies UK represents climate criminals like Shell, BP and Equinor. They should not be welcome at Labour conference and Labour ministers should not be sitting on panels alongside their lobbyists. Young people want a real alternative to Tory chaos, not climate denying business as usual.
“Labour must reject the fossil fuel industry, and commit to a transformative green new deal by backing public ownership of energy, water and transport, a Green Jobs Guarantee and the creation of a National Nature Service.
"They must tax fossil fuel companies, big corporations and the wealthiest to pay for this investment, and we will keep pushing them to step up to tackle the climate and economic crisis that we face.”
This Author
Brendan Montague is editor of The Ecologist. This article is based on a press release from Green New Deal Rising. Link to video of the action here.
