Greta Thunberg and 26 other climate activists charged for protesting at oil conference

Thunberg was part of a large demonstration outside the Energy Intelligence Forum, known as the “Oscars of Oil”, at the InterContinental Hotel on Park Lane

Greta Thunberg has been charged with a public order offence following a fossil fuel protest in central London.

The Swedish climate activist and 26 others were charged by the Metropolitan Police after disrupting a conference hosting the heads of major oil and gas companies.

On Tuesday, Thunberg was part of a large demonstration outside the Energy Intelligence Forum, dubbed the “Oscars of Oil”, at the InterContinental Hotel on Park Lane which draws some of the most powerful players in fossil fuels.

The 20-year-old was arrested to prevent “serious disruption to the community, hotel and guests”, the Met Police said.

Fossil Free London, the group that organised the protest, told The Independent that all of those arrested were later released but “many with bail conditions to not enter Westminster until their trial on 15 November”.

Ms Thunberg was charged with breaching Section 14 of the Public Order Act.

“Greta and five others were released from Wandsworth police station at 2am, and several at Islington released without interview and charged with breaching the Section 14 that had been put in place,” Fossil Free London said.

Demonstrators gathered again at the oil summit on Wednesday chanting “Oily Money Out” in protest of the UK government’s continued investment in fossil fuels including recent approval of the Rosebank project off Shetland.

Climate campaigners have warned that Rosebank’s oil field would produce over 200 million tonnes of carbon, more than the combined annual emissions of the world’s 28 poorest countries.

Protestors chanted “Stop Rosebank” and held banners saying “Rosebank kills”. Anders Opedal, CEO of Norway’s state-backed oil giant Equinor which owns 80 per cent of the oil and gas field, was expected at the conference on Wednesday.

“If he didn’t before, Equinor’s boss now knows that he has a fight on his hands,” said Lauren MacDonald, campaigner with the Stop Rosebank campaign.

Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg is put in the back of a police van, while being detained, during an Oily Money Out protest in London (REUTERS)

Climate activists also occupied the headquarters of insurers Lloyd’s of London on Wednesday with some gluing themselves to the floor to protest large fossil fuel projects they are backing such as the West Cumbria coal mine and the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline.

Another demonstration took place at the Canary Wharf offices of Total Energies, a majority shareholder in the East Africa pipeline.

“London’s banks and finance sector have been ignoring all the warning signs while pouring billions into fossil fuel expansion. Their profit is our loss. Financing new fossil fuel developments is incompatible with a safe future,” Joanna Warrington, a campaigner with Fossil Free London said.

On Tuesday, protestors blocked access to the Intercontinental, and among those prevented from entering was Shell CEO Wael Sawan, who was scheduled to speak at the event. He later addressed the conference by video link.

Fossil Free London protestors inside the office Talbot Insurance holding banners saying ‘Don’t Insure EACOP’ and ‘Don’t Insure West Cumbria Mine’ (Handout/Fossil Free London)

In a speech on Tuesday, Thunberg said people in power were “knowingly leading us to the end of a precipice” as she encouraged people “to take direct action to stop this and to kick oil money out of politics”.

“We have no other option but to put our bodies outside this conference and to physically disrupt,” she added.

“And we have to do that every time we have to continue showing them that they are not going to get away with this.”