Fossil Free London organized a protest in front of the closing dinner of the International Petroleum Week, a three-day conference during which the oil and gas industry gathers to celebrate their role in causing planetary destruction in pursuit of profit.

The conference aimed to «help define the industry’s role in achieving a low-carbon future.» Major fossil fuel companies attended, many of which publicly showcase their investments in renewable and low-carbon energies, though they actually only make up a small percentage of their portfolio: a thin greenwashing layer they hope will hide their huge current emissions of coal, oil, and gas.

Local climate activists from Fossil Free London attended to highlight that fossil fuel companies are not welcome in London. We are not falling for their green image washing.

Fossil Fuels

The protestors held a banner with the words Fossil Fuels = Climate Crisis. They wore masks with the face of Bernard Looney, BP’s new CEO, and mockingly covered the words «climate crisis» with green paint.

Why bother with Bernard Looney, among the many attendees from major oil companies? BP has spent huge amounts of money claiming to be climate-friendly, while committing less than four percent of its investments to do so.

Bernard Looney himself was head of exploration before becoming CEO. One of his major statements was a declaration that BP would become net zero by 2050, but without details on how it would be achieved. Until BP commits to urgently ending exploration and extraction, the new plans will just be a greenwashing facelift.

Joanna Warrington, who was at the protest, said: «As our planet floods and burns, BP seems to have realized that continuing to blatantly ignore or deny the climate crisis is no longer a viable public relations strategy.

«But instead of changing its business plan, abandoning fossil fuels, and embracing the clean and renewable energy the world needs, BP is simply rebranding.

«All the greenwashing of ‘low carbon emissions’ in the world will not hide the damage that fossil fuels (and fossil fuel companies) are causing to people around the world who are already experiencing the floods, fires, and storms of climate collapse. The urgently needed carbon future cannot make room for fossil fuels.»

This article

This article is based on a press release from Fossil Free London.