Delegates attending the UK’s largest insurance industry gathering in Manchester yesterday were met by activists demanding that the industry stop covering new fossil fuel projects
The activists were calling on the brokers not to insure projects such as the West Cumbrian coal mine and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
The protests were organised by the Manchester Stop EACOP Coalition.
EACOP is a 900 mile pipeline currently under construction to carry oil from fields near Lake Albert in Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania. 100,000 people will eventually be displaced by the project and it will pass through Uganda’s largest national park and endanger other sensitive wildlife habits. The total carbon dioxide emissions of the project are expected to exceed the national emissions of the UK.
The project has already struggled to obtain finance, and 29 insurance companies have already said they will not cover the project, and activist hope others will follow. It cannot operate without insurance. Following a similar protest in March this year the insurance company Zurich pledged not to cover new fossil fuel projects.
Over a hundred activists lobbied the delegates with songs, poetry, street theatre, ‘discobediance’, drumming, a performance by Extinction Rebellion’s Red Rebels and a women’s circle of testimonies from people affected by climate change in East Africa.
The protest started as the delegates arrived in the morning and continued until 6PM. The atmosphere was friendly, with people attending the event watching the performances and mingling with the protesters. Conference organisers later said the protests had been “an eye opener for many of the delegates” and praised their friendly nature and the coherence of the messages.
During the day an exhibition, Women’s Voices of Resistance, was on display in the Friends Meeting House and the Manchester Stop EACOP Coalition later held a press conference and fringe event there, where Chanje Kunda, a nationally and internationally performing conceptual artist talked about her recently visit to Zambia and her project called ‘Creating a Climate for Healing’; and Stuart Spray, an ecologist and filmmaker, described following the path of EACOP and meeting some of those displaced by the pipeline and recording their voices.
Amongst the testimonies collected by Stuart was that of Rachael Tugume, who was removed from her land, but who returned to farm it unlawfully as she found the compensation she was given was inadequate to feed her and her children.
Martin Porter of the Stop EACOP Coalition said “Without insurance, climate wrecking fossil fuel projects can’t go ahead. Those who have contributed least to the problem are going to be most affected, and we have brought their voices to Manchester in the hope of persuading the insurance industry to stop backing these climate wrecking projects. These are people who accept the science and understand risk. We believe they will see the case for climate action, and in investing in a cleaner, greener future.”
