Protest held against fossil fuel interests at TED conference in London
London: Campaigners today staged a protest against the involvement of fossil fuel interests in a conference focused on solutions to the climate crisis. Invitees to the TED event titled ‘What is the role of fossil fuels between now and 2050?’ include the oil giant Equinor, which is currently seeking approval to develop Rosebank, the UK’s largest undeveloped oil field.
Campaign groups, including Stop Rosebank, Fossil Free London, Greenpeace, Extinction Rebellion and Money Rebellion accused the event organisers, TED Countdown, of giving oil companies the opportunity to greenwash their operations in a bid to strengthen their social licence to operate. The protestors gathered outside the Barbican Centre holding banners reading “#StopRosebank”, “No New Oil”, and “No New Licences”.
Stop Rosebank campaigner, Lauren MacDonald said: “It is shameful that TED has invited a company like Equinor to an event billed as ‘accelerating solutions to the climate crisis’, allowing them to spread their greenwashing rhetoric, when Equinor fully intends to carry on exploiting huge oil fields like Rosebank way beyond what’s safe for our planet. With the floods in Pakistan and the record heatwaves across Europe and China this summer, we’re already witnessing the devastating impacts of climate change, which will only get worse.”
Robin from Fossil Free London said: "Our life support systems are being suffocated, by the likes of Equinor and BP. London – and the world – will resist these oily executives. Forty years of climate disinformation speaks for itself. They cannot be trusted to have a good faith conversation, so we continue to protest and to ask for people to join us in resistance to demand one simple thing: our survival."
Claude from Money Rebellion said: "By giving a space on their platform, Ted Talks legitimises fossil fuel companies when there is more and more hard evidence that they knew, they lied and knowingly led us to where we are today (on the brink of triggering various climate tipping points from which it will be even harder to come back from). Fossil fuel companies have used every trick in the book to protect their powers and profits and Ted Talks has just given them another opportunity to spread their lies."
Equinor, in particular, campaigners argue, should not be invited to contribute to discussions focused on the climate crisis and fossil fuels’ role in fueling it. If burned, the oil and gas reserves in Rosebank, which is set to be approved by the UK government in the coming weeks, would create more CO2 than the combined CO2 emissions of all 28 low-income countries in the world.(1) Equinor plans for Rosebank to produce oil until 2051, a year after the UK’s net zero target.(2)
The protestors also point to the minimal public benefit from Rosebank’s approval: it won’t lead to lower fuel bills or boost UK energy security: 90% of Rosebank’s reserves are oil and, like 80% of all North Sea oil, it will most likely be exported overseas. Moreover, the cost of Rosebank’s development will fall to the taxpayer thanks to a new subsidy introduced with the windfall tax by the UK government. It will see the UK public effectively handing over at least half a billion pounds for Rosebank’s development.(3)
Other fossil fuel interests invited by TED include: oil and gas giants, BP and Petrobas; banks that finance fossil fuel projects, as well as the UK's oil & gas regulator, which is expected to launch a new licensing round in the North Sea this week.
Rosebank was the target of another demonstration this week, with campaigners targeting the University of Aberdeen for endorsing, through its corporate social media account, Equinor’s plans to develop the oil field. Groups including Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil, and Friday’s for Future are demanding that the University retract its statement and cut its ties with the fossil fuel industry.(5)
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