Protestors block exits to seven oil facilities in bid for no-new-oil pledge
Campaigners have blocked the exits to seven oil facilities near London, Birmingham and Southampton, in a bid to halt new oil and gas developments.
Protestors from the Just Stop Oil Coalition and Extinction rebellion have planted themselves along roads to stop oil tankers from leaving the facilities.
One protestor from London, Jack Johnson, said: “The government has no democratic mandate to expand oil production which they know will make the planet uninhabitable. There is no climate change pass.
“We all face a choice – stand by and do nothing while the government destroys your future or take action. Nonviolent civil resistance works. It’s our best hope of forcing the government to take responsibility.”
The 23-year-old added that he and other protestors will “go home”, when the government makes a “meaningful” pledge to end new fossil fuel production in the UK.
It comes amid reports that prime minister Boris Johnson has left the door ajar to more shale fracking in the UK, following a ban.
Energy firm Cuadrilla said it had been given a stay of execution after recieiving orders for three testing wells in Lancashire to be filled with concrete by 30 June.
The company said it would temporarily plug the wells and mull its options before a new deadline of June 2023.
Politicians have been under increasing pressure to intervene in soaring energy prices, as the price cap for consumers more than doubles today.
Energy regulator Ofgem has estimated around 22m households will be hit by the rising cost. The energy price cap from today has been raised to £1,971, up £693 from October’s cap of £1,277 per year.