With the appointment of the country’s second new prime minister in less than two months, environmental and anti-poverty campaigners are calling on him to do more to address the climate change and rising cost of living challenges.
In order to achieve this, more than 30 protesters from Greenpeace and Fuel Poverty Action occupied the lobby of parliament on Monday. They demanded that the new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak impose a tax on the excess profits of oil and gas companies, speed up the switch to renewable energy sources, and improve the insulation of British homes.
We now require a government that can deal with crises rather than causes them. Greenpeace UK Co-Executive Director Will McCallum claimed during the rally that over a fourth of the country is in fuel poverty as a result of outrageous gas prices and the oldest, coldest housing in Europe, as The Independent reported. Winter is approaching, and if the government doesn’t find a solution soon, lives will be lost.
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Following Liz Trusson’s departure on October 20 and Boris Johnson’s resignation in July, Sunak became the UK’s third prime minister in two months on Monday, according to AP News at the time. The nation has experienced a growing energy price crisis during this time. The government of Truss initially pledged a two-year Energy Price Guarantee that would cause the average family energy bill to increase to 2,500 per year. This prevented the country’s energy regulator from raising the household energy price cap by 80 percent beginning in October. However, as Sky News noted, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt then stated that the assurance would only remain until April and that it would reportedly be reconsidered.
Due to her decision to repeal a prohibition on fracking and boost oil and gas production in the North Sea, which went against the Conservative Party policy, Truss received criticism from climate activists, as noted by Greenpeace. According to The Guardian, environmentally conscious Tories and some green organizations anticipate less hostility from Sunak toward environmental goals.
According to Shaun Spiers, executive director of the think group Green Alliance, Sunak stated that he wanted to stick to the 2019 manifesto, which was very strong on these issues, and Liz Truss wanted to throw it out.
After Sunak was formally named prime minister on Monday, a demonstration took place in the Houses of Parliament’s foyer, according to The Independent. According to Sky News, the activists first entered the Palace of Westminster as visitors before linking their arms and starting to read testimonies from people who were having trouble paying their energy bills. Additionally, they had a banner that stated, “Chaos Costs Lives.”
According to McCallum, who was quoted in The Independent, this government has spent more time seeking for a replacement for Boris Johnson than really running the country.
Even before the energy crisis, according to Greenpeace, the UK had the sixth-highest excess winter death rate in Europe. Because they disproportionately affect the poor, people of color, the elderly, and persons with disabilities whose essential equipment frequently requires electricity, the rising cost of fuel is a problem for environmental justice.
The three primary demands of the demonstration were:
- Spending 6 billion to go door-to-door insulating homes.
- Transitioning to renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
- Taxing the windfall profits of oil and gas companies.
According to McCallum, who was quoted by Sky News, “people need permanently lower costs and a safe environment, and that means more renewable energy, more financial help, a nationwide street-by-street insulation scheme, and a proper tax on the energy profiteers to pay for it.
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In addition to supporting the protest, Fuel Poverty Action and Disabled People Against Cuts are advocating for energy for everyone to satisfy necessities like heating and lights.
#EnergyForAll refers to providing everyone with free energy that is sufficient to meet their basic needs, including heating, cooking, and lighting, but also taking into account their age, health, and housing conditions.
Fuel Poverty Action’s Diane Skidmore submitted a petition requesting the rule. We’re pleading with the government to enact a Windfall Tax on the profits of oil and gas producers, traders, and suppliers in order to pay for this new pricing system, Energy for All, and to STOP subsidizing fossil fuels with millions of pounds every day.
The protesters on Monday left on their own after reading their remarks; police did not approach them.
