Statement from Friends of the Earth on the jailing of Just Stop Oil activists in the UK

Friends of the Earth Ireland sends its solidarity to Just Stop Oil activists who have been jailed for taking non-violent direct action in protest of the UK government’s granting of over 100 new oil and gas exploration licenses. We condemn the increased criminalisation of climate activism in the United Kingdom. These activists took action at a time when the then Tory Government had committed to rapidly expand oil exploration licenses in the North Sea, a devastating decision which activists have since succeeded in partly overturning. We believe that the jailing of Anna Holland and Phoebe Plummer is an unjust and disproportionate response by the British state. 

These sentences were handed out just one week after devastating floods swept Central Europe, killing over 20 people, with homes, villages, and infrastructure destroyed. We have long known that this severe weather is a direct result of climate chaos fuelled by the burning of fossil fuels and its resultant ecological devastation. For decades, oil companies have gotten away with wreaking havoc on our environment. They have deliberately blurred the impact of their industry in order to keep profits high [1]. The actions of Just Stop Oil activists must be placed in this context. We note that a further twelve Just Stop Oil activists have already been jailed for taking action to demand an end to the burning of coal, oil and gas by 2030.

Rosi Leonard, Friends of the Earth team member, says,

While young activists face jail time for throwing soup on a painting, the Fossil Fuel lobby enjoys significant influence in global politics, with recent research revealing that under the leadership of Von Der Leyden, the EU Commission held 900 meetings in a little over four years with Big Oil lobbyists [2]. The human rights abuses of oil companies are well documented. From Mozambique to Rossport to Dakota, oil companies have attacked and harassed communities and often killed people who have shown any opposition to their developments with support from national governments, yet few have ever faced justice for their crimes.[3]

Claudia Tormey, Friends of the Earth team member, says:

For me, the Just Stop Oil prison sentence has brought to mind how the world responded to the Notre Dame fire in 2019 and how massive that was for people pouring money in to rebuild a man made monument. Meanwhile, the burning of the earth and all of its natural beauty has yet to stir such a reaction. The people putting their lives on the line for the earth and for people facing the injustice of climate breakdown need to be celebrated, valued and protected.

Notes:

1. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/apr/20/what-we-now-know-they-lied-how-big-oil-companies-betrayed-us-all

2. https://fossilfreepolitics.org/news/statement-tighter-rules-for-fossil-fuel-lobbyists-access-to-eu-commission/

3. https://www.politico.eu/article/totalenergies-mozambique-patrick-pouyanne-atrocites-afungi-palma-cabo-delgado-al-shabab-isis/