Extinction Rebellion campaigners have taken to the streets of Glasgow dressed as ‘zombies’ to protest climate change.
Extinction Rebellion Scotland targeted insurance companies in the city centre this morning, Tuesday, October 29. Activists dressed up as the undead while performing Michael Jackson’s Thriller dance to demand new fossil fuel projects to be halted.
The demonstration went from insurance brokers Howden Group, to AIG and then AXA – with dance performances at each location.
Activists chanted “No more gas, no more oil, keep the carbon in the soil” and held banners saying “Fueling the zombie apocalypse” and “No insurance on a dead planet”.
The action against climate change is part of Extinction Rebellion’s major campaign – Insure Our Survival.
The campaign calls on the insurance industry to stop underwriting all new oil, gas and coal projects. They have vowed to host protests and actions across the UK in both cities and towns.
Major insurance companies with offices in Glasgow have yet to rule out new fossil fuel projects, including Howden Group.
Extinction Rebellion Scotland activists will present letters asking Howden Group and other brokers or insurers of new fossil fuel projects to publicly announce an immediate, complete and permanent withdrawal from brokering, insuring, reinsuring or underwriting all new oil, gas and coal projects.
Earlier this year, in February, thousands of activists, in tandem with global campaign coalition Insure Our Future, staged a week-long series of actions across the world, including in Glasgow.
The campaign has had some successes – giant global insurer Zurich announced that it would no longer be insuring new oil and gas projects.
In the past week, Generali, which ranks among the top 20 insurers globally, became the first major insurer to cut ties with transition laggards in the fossil fuel industry.
Lois Legendre, 44, senior engineer and climate activist, said: “The UN’s “Code Red for Humanity” should be clear enough, we should have transitioned off fossil fuel decades ago, having new fossil projects now, in 2024, is pure insanity.
“Insurance is the weak spot that could stop the fossil fuel industry from digging and drilling for more oil, gas and coal.
“The insurance industry can see the costs of the extreme weather events that are already flooding our homes, destroying our food supply and threatening to kill billions in our lifetimes.
“They can be climate heroes by refusing to prop up the fossil fuel industry and help save our entire civilisation, and the biosphere that we rely on for life.
“We demand these companies and the entire insurance industry immediately stop insuring all new oil, gas and coal projects – and we’ll keep coming back until they do.”
Murdoch Wilson, retired NHS manager and spokesperson for XR Glasgow, said: “Insurance companies are taking massive hits to their profits due to extreme weather events caused by global warming.
“But instead of turning off the tap of carbon pollution by stopping insuring coal, gas and oil projects they are increasing their prices for ordinary families and refusing to insure in some areas most at risk of fires and floods.
“This is deeply unfair, and the big polluters responsible for the extreme weather events should pay for the clean up.”
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