91 climate activists from Friends of
the Earth France and Action Non-Violente COP21 have today forced the
cancellation of the second day of the European Annual Gas Conference (EAGC) in
Paris.
ACTION Now in Paris,
activists are disturbing the European Annual Gaz Conference to protest against
the public and private funding of gaz industry.
Gaz is not a bridge for energy transition, but a fossil fuel. #AlerteAuGaz #StopRioGrandeLNG pic.twitter.com/Levdbm0TLL
— Amis de la Terre FR
(@amisdelaterre) November 6, 2019
The conference brings together 300
delegates comprising the gas industry, French and European institutions, and
bankers including Société Générale. The
activists call for an end to massive public and private financing of gas in
line with the goal of staying below 1.5°C of global heating.
Gas industry lies
disrupted
91 climate activists infiltrated the
luxurious Hotel International Continental in Paris, where the European Annual
Gas Conference was being held, at 2pm this afternoon and disrupted the smooth
running of the second day of the event. The conference organisers were forced
to cancel the afternoon programme and clear the premises.
The activists denounced the myths
propagated by the gas industry and its major funders, who aim to promote gas as
a low-carbon transition fuel. From the Permian basin in the south of the U.S.,
to the Mozambican coast, to the Arctic, monumental new projects to extract ever
more gas are being developed worldwide. These fossil fuels are destined for the
European market. Any expansion of gas is, however, incompatible with
the imperative of keeping global warming below 1.5°C.
Sixtine Dano, spokesperson
for ANV-COP21 said:
"Despite civil society
organisations calling multiple times for massive action to halt climate
breakdown and its terrible consequences worldwide, there has been massive
support by stakeholders from the private and public sector to expand gas. These
stakeholders have their finger on the trigger of our climate, but we, citizens,
are determined to do whatever it takes to stop them, even engaging in
nonviolent civil disobedience if we have to."
BREAKING
En ce moment même à #Paris, où se réunissent
industriels, lobbies, des activistes viennent perturber la Conférence
européenne annuelle internationale sur le gaz !
Non, le gaz n'est pas une énergie de transition !
#AlerteAuGaz #PLF2020
⤵️ Dérouler le thread ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/bBWnqKmMOX
— Amis de la Terre FR
(@amisdelaterre) November 6, 2019
Quit financing climate
destruction
For climate activists, gas does not
deserve to be supported with public taxpayers money or private banks, any more
than other fossil fuels like coal or oil. Amid a parliamentary debate in France
on public support for fossil fuels through export guarantees, the government
and MPs were challenged by activists to end to these grants.
Cécile Marchand,
climate campaigner for Friends of the Earth France said:
"Emmanuel Macron
himself said at the UN in
September: it is completely incoherent and irresponsible to continue
to support fossil fuel industry exploration of new oil and gas fields overseas,
when it is banned in France. However, the government keeps fuelling climate
chaos through export guarantee funding.”
Deadly Texas gas project
Société
Générale, the only private bank invited onto the conference stage, is
one of the world’s largest creditors to the gas industry and is a leader in
financing the export of U.S. shale gas from fracking. The bank has been in the
spotlight for several months as it holds in its hands the future of the Rio
Grande LNG terminal project, to export shale gas to Europe from Texas.
Lorette Philippot, private
finance campaigner for Friends of the Earth France said:
"The Rio Grande LNG
megaproject is key for the expansion of shale gas in the US and the world and
it is championed by the
Trump administration. Société Générale gave
itself until the end of the year to decide whether it would quit supporting Rio
Grande LNG. The choice is simple: keep playing the game of a President who just
officially withdrew from the Paris Agreement; or finally walk the walk and
refuse to fuel this ticking time bomb.”
La conférence
européenne annuelle sur le gaz est suspendue grâce à
l'intervention de nos activistes non-violents !
Nous demandons la fin des soutiens publics et privés au secteur gazier
afin de maintenir le réchauffement global à moins de 1,5°C.#AlerteAuGaz#PLF2020 pic.twitter.com/fpAHWExwlx
— Amis de la Terre FR
(@amisdelaterre) November 6, 2019