‘We will not die quietly’ say Just Stop Oil Cambridge protesters after North Sea drilling go-ahead
“We will not die quietly,” said Just Stop Oil protesters as they marched through the centre of Cambridge this morning in protest against the UK government’s recent licensing of 100 new oil and gas fields in the North Sea.
Lou Lancaster, 57, from Barton; and Chiara, 24, Alison, 62 and engineer Andrew Dames, 61 from Cambridge were among the outraged citizens who walked slowly through the city centre.
“Our government is betraying us all,” said former teacher Louise. “I feel compelled to let people in Cambridge know how seriously damaging this is - so many lies are being told to conceal the deadly truth.”
Monday’s announcement from the Prime Minister was mainly a commitment to undertake future licensing rounds for North Sea oil and gas projects, in essence agreeing in principle to allow the fossil fuel industry to undertake new projects. It intends to grant hundreds of new licences for producing oil and gas in the North Sea. It has so far received more than 100 bids for exploration and development.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that investing in new fossil fuels is “moral and economic madness”.
“I’m doing this for my niece,” said Chiara, a Cambridge student. “I will not stand by and let her chances for a livable future be set on fire. This criminal government is knowingly choosing a world of famine, drought and war for the sake of greed. New oil in 2023! It is not normal. We will not let it be normal.”
Cambridge resident Alison said: “’I’m marching today because Rishi Sunak is issuing a hundred new oil and gas licenses, which will have a detrimental effect on our climate. I volunteer with young children and it breaks my heart to think what the future holds for them if we don’t act now, before it’s too late.”
The protesters walked around the ring road starting at Fen Causeway and past Parker’s Piece, up East Road to the Elizabeth Way roundabout, along Chesterton Road, then turned left and went straight across to the Backs to the Newnham Shell garage and then back up Fen Causeway. The march took two hours.
“There was some disruption on Fen Causeway,” added Lou. “We walked at a steady pace.”
Cambridgeshire Police were called, made an assessment, concluded “there was no significant disruption and didn’t attend”.
