Press release: 20-foot boat (‘Lightship Greta’) joins fossil fuel protest at County Hall

Press Release
Divest East Sussex [1]
12 July 2022
More info: 07596 483 272

PHOTO: https://tinyurl.com/bangthedrum1 [CAPTION: Outside County Hall with ‘Lightship Greta’, 12 July 2022. Photo: JJ Waller], https://tinyurl.com/bangthedrum2 [CAPTION: ‘Lightship Greta’ being pushed up the hill to County Hall, 12 July 2022. Photo: Steve Lewis ], https://tinyurl.com/bangthedrum3 [CAPTION: Outside County Hall with ‘Lightship Greta’, 12 July 2022. Photo: Steve Lewis]

SAMBA BAND AND 20-FOOT BOAT (‘LIGHTSHIP GRETA’) JOIN FOSSIL FUEL PROTEST AT COUNTY HALL
Campaigners demand County Council stop investing in the companies driving the climate crisis

Tuesday 12 July 2022, County Hall, Lewes: Climate campaigners from across East Sussex, Brighton and Hove joined forces this morning (Tuesday 12 July), for a ‘big noise demo’ outside County Hall, demanding that East Sussex County Council (ESCC) stop investing in fossil fuels. The protest (‘Bang the drum for fossil fuel divestment!’) included a samba band and Extinction Rebellion Brighton’s 20-foot model boat ‘Lightship Greta’ [2] which was pushed up the hill to County Hall from the centre of Lewes.

The East Sussex Pension Fund, which is administered by ESCC, currently has tens of millions of pounds of local people’s pension monies invested in the giant oil and gas companies, like Shell and BP, that are driving the climate crisis [3]. Bexhill Town Council, Brighton & Hove City Council, Hastings Borough Council, Lewes District Council, Lewes Town Council, Peacehaven Town Council, UNISON, Maria Caulfield MP (Cons, Lewes) and Caroline Lucas MP (Green, Brighton Pavilion) have all called on the Fund to divest from fossil fuels [4] – something it has repeatedly refused to do.

‘Lightship Greta’ on the way to County Hall, 12 July 2022. Photo: Steve Lewis

A vote on whether or not the Fund should divest from fossil fuels is expected to take place at the 20 July meeting of the East Sussex Pension Committee. A three-day ‘fast for fossil fuel divestment’ will be taking place outside the Hall in the run-up to the vote [5], and local Extinction Rebellion groups are planning two days of protests, workshops and talks outside County Hall next week to demand that ESCC ‘takes meaningful action in the face of climate change’[6]

According to the International Energy Agency, avoiding catastrophic climate change requires an immediate stop to all investments in new oil & gas projects [7]. Yet the world’s 20 largest fossil fuel companies alone are planning to spend over $930 billion on such projects between now and 2030 [8]. In a speech last week the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: ‘We seem trapped in a world where fossil fuel producers and financiers have humanity by the throat. For decades, the fossil fuel industry has invested heavily in pseudoscience and public relations – with a false narrative to minimise their responsibility for climate change and undermine ambitious climate policies. They exploited precisely the same scandalous tactics as big tobacco decades before. Like tobacco interests, fossil fuel interests and their financial accomplices must not escape responsibility.’ [9]

Today’s demo was organised by groups from across the region, including Divest East Sussex, Eco Action Families Brighton, Lewes Climate Hub, Lewes Green Party, Seaford Environmental Alliance, Transition Town Hastings, Transition Town Lewes, XR Brighton, XR Eastbourne and XR Lewes.

A spokesperson for the demonstration said: ‘Despite declaring a ‘climate emergency’ over 2½ years ago, East Sussex County Council (ESCC) is still investing local people’s pensions in the giant oil companies – like Shell and BP – that are driving the climate crisis. Not only is this hypocrisy on a grand scale, but by clinging on to these investments it is also providing a fig-leaf for these companies’ ongoing attempts to block effective climate action [10]. It’s time for ESCC to stop making excuses and divest from fossil fuels. We urge anyone who’s concerned about the climate to visit https://tinyurl.com/takeactionfordivest and email the decision-makers before the vote on 20 July.’

NOTES
[1] https://divesteastsussex.wordpress.com
[2] https://www.facebook.com/LightshipGreta/
[3] The Fund’s reported ‘fossil fuel exposure’ as at 31 March 2021 was £82.2m (see https://tinyurl.com/ffexposure, page 25). However, this figure has fallen since then, following recent decisions by the Committee. According to a recent document circulated by the Fund, its actual exposure to fossil fuel producers may now be as low as 0.5%: https://divesteastsussex.files.wordpress.com/2021/07/response-email-to-new-councillors-june-21.pdf. As at 31 December 2021 the Fund was valued at £4.741bn (see page 156 of https://democracy.eastsussex.gov.uk/documents/g4902/Public%20reports%20pack%2024th-Feb-2022%2010.00%20Pension%20Committee.pdf?T=10). 0.5% of £4.741bn is £23.705m.