Campaigners protested against drilling plans in the North Sea outside a Shell petrol station in south Manchester. The 15 activists from Manchester Greenpeace and Greater Manchester Climate Justice turned heads on Wilmslow Road in Rusholme as they opposed proposals for gas drilling in the Jackdaw field.
Shell was given the go-ahead by the government in June. Greenpeace has launched a legal challenge while a further 39 oil and gas projects await approval for funding.
Glossop-based activist Martin Porter said: "We are in a cost of living crisis and a climate crisis.
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“Shell has made £17 billion profit so far this year, whilst many people face not being able to pay their bill this winter. It's not the cost of renewable energy that has gone up, but the oil price.
“Meanwhile, the world has had a summer of extreme weather due to climate change, from Manchester experiencing its hottest ever day, to the floods that are currently devastating Pakistan. If you're in a hole you first stop digging, and we need to stop looking for new fossil fuels and invest in clean energy and energy efficiency instead."
This is the first of many protests that will start to emerge across the country, Martin explained. He said that oil prices are rising but renewable energy prices are either staying the same or decreasing.
The group believes that sustainable energy is the best way to go, rather than continuing to use up fossil fuels. The energy crisis is something that affects everyone, but according to campaigners, it is not impacting everyone equally - the poorer in society suffer more.
“We had a lot of people waving at us and tooting their horns from their cars and lorries,” Martin said, talking about the demonstration. “We are starting to tap into the deep rooted anger of people now.
“We got a lot of positive feedback. It is also great that we educated others on this who were not aware about Jackdaw.
“This has to be the beginning though and not the end.”
In support of the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, Shell has set a group target to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050, in step with society. In October 2021, they announced a new target to halve our absolute emissions by 50 per cent by 2030, compared to 2016 levels on a net basis.
A Shell spokesperson said: “We respect the right of people to protest and express their point of view. We agree that society needs to take urgent action on climate change. Shell has a clear target to become a net-zero emissions business by 2050.
"We are also deeply committed to the UK and are planning to invest between £20-25 billion in the UK energy system over the next decade - more than 75% of this will be in low and zero-carbon products and services, including offshore wind, hydrogen and electric mobility.”
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