The pressure group concerned citizens occupied the lobby of Belvedere on Booth Street to ask Marsh Insurers not to broker any new fossil fuel projects, and to stop brokering insurance for projects like the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) and the LNG (methane) export terminals in the US Gulf Coast which, they claimed, “are fuelling catastrophic climate change and abusing human rights.”
The group invited Marsh staff to hear the voices of people affected by these projects who are asking them to help stop these projects going ahead. The group then shared testimonies from East African women whose future is being threatened by the EACOP and from Ugandan students who have been beaten and imprisoned for opposing the pipeline.
They also brought testimonies from communities being harmed by the LNG export terminals. Although no one from Marsh accepted the invitation or was available to comment, other workers from businesses also based in the office building were curious, some stopped to listen and expressed shock at what they heard.
Inside the lobby, retired mental health care manager, Jean Bradbury, said “I hate it that the lives of people in East Africa are being destroyed by a pipeline that is contributing to the destruction of the planet. How mad is that? “And what’s that got to do with Marsh?” you might ask. Well, they support these projects by providing the insurance needed to go ahead.”
Meanwhile, outside Belvedere, the office where Marsh are based, supporters displayed photographs of some of the devastating floods, caused by climate change, that happened across the globe in 2024, and here in Greater Manchester on New Year’s Day. They observed a minute’s silence to think of those who have been affected or died in the floods.
Cordelia Newsome (a retired teacher) explained
“Climate change is killing people already. Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent. We are going to see more deadly floods in years to come but, meanwhile, it is becoming increasingly difficult for people to get insurance for their homes and businesses if they live in vulnerable areas. By enabling fossil fuel projects to go ahead, insurers are fuelling the climate crisis but, at the same time, they are abandoning communities who are most affected by climate risks..[
