From August 19-26th, groups across the UK mobilised using a range of tactics under the shared goal of forcing the UK government to not expand oil and gas. From over 20 local actions to #StopJackdaw trending on twitter - thanks to every single one of you who made the Week of Action such a success.
We held rallies, protests, die-ins, performances, put up stickers and posters across the country, dropped banners, and held information stalls and flyering events. We mass called, e-mailed and tweeted at MPs in the thousands and shared the #StopJackdaw message within our communities. We sent 2223 tweets, 6420 emails, and made 357 calls.
Together, we're building an ever-rising wave of resistance that is building the skills, knowledge, and power to shut down the UK. government’s climate wrecking oil and gas plans. Here are some the actions and activists from across the country:
The week kicked off with a powerful protest in Sheffield. Jemima from Climbers for Climate, who co-organised the protest in Sheffield, said:
“We simply cannot have any more fossil fuel projects if we want a liveable climate. Jackdaw will not help us lower our energy bills; it will make more profits for Shell whilst causing further destruction to our climate.”
We also saw some creative outreach done by Fossil Free London, who took their beautiful Jackdaws to the streets of the capital to draw attention to the government’s climate-wrecking plans.
All the way over in Liverpool, the local Youth Climate Strike group held their own outreach event, raising awareness with the public and recruiting new members into our movement:
In Scotland, the giant Jackdaws took to Edinburgh Fringe, spreading the message that we need urgent climate action to ensure a just transition. We were thrilled to learn how many people had already heard about our campaign!
The week of action also saw our petition being handed in at 10 Downing Street, which had been signed by 60,000 people:
Our biggest action took place in London, where activists staged a protest and die-in in front of Shell’s headquarters.
XR Youth Cambridge also took to the streets, demanding an end to new gas fields:
Many people (and dogs!) participate in the #StopJackdaw selfie action, too!
And lastly, we were thrilled to see our #StopJackdaw stickers pop up across the country!
The fight does not end here. The UK wants to approve more than 30 new fossil fuel projects by the year 2025, and is set to launch another licensing round for new oil and gas exploration this autumn. We need to keep building on the momentum so that we have the power to fight back stronger with every field that comes through the pipeline.
As you might have heard, Shell recently announced that they are selling their stake in the Cambo oil field. And whatever Shell says, whatever the government says, that is down to us and down to our resistance last year.
We are not going anywhere. And Shell and the UK government know that.
