Climate protesters have become a daily sight on London’s streets, undeterred by the honking horns of irate motorists, personal insults and even arrests. This time, Ocean Rebellion campaigners pretended to drown themselves in oil and gas in a protest outside a United Nations agency in London. The climate change activists staged the frightening demonstration on the steps of the International Maritime Organisation, the UN agency responsible for regulating maritime transport. “A drowning ocean goddess symbolizes the dire threat LNG poses to our oceans,” the group wrote on X while sharing pictures of the stunt show.
The images show, one activist, dressed as an “ocean goddess”, donning a fishbowl on her head filled with black liquid as though she was drowning. She could be seen screaming as the liquid engulfed her face before it quickly drained from the bowl. Other protesters around her were seen wearing gas masks and brandishing petrol pumps with flames spouting out of them.
“Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) is not a “green” solution. Methane leaks from LNG ships are 80x more damaging than CO2. The IMO must wake up to this reality before it’s too late,” Ocean Rebellion wrote on X.
2/5 Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) is not a “green” solution. Methane leaks from LNG ships are 80x more damaging than CO2. The IMO must wake up to this reality before it’s too late. #SayNoToLNG #ClimateCrisis @OceanRebellion pic.twitter.com/8tFqfqTvV4
— Ocean Rebellion (@oceanrebellion) October 4, 2024
According to the New York Post, the protest took place on Friday, the final day of meetings for the UN agency’s Maritime Environment Protection Committee, which had convened to discuss reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships. The protesters accused the agency of manipulating the fossil fuel industry and failing to protect the ocean.
“The IMO is failing to protect our oceans. LNG is a dirty fuel disguised as clean. We demand transparency and accountability. Stop listening to fossil fuel lobbyists, start protecting our planet!” the group wrote on the microblogging site.
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Meanwhile, climate change activists have been in the news with their high-profile direct-action protests, such as disrupting Premier League Football matches, and sporting events, to publicise their cause. They have thrown tomato soup on famous paintings and glued themselves to picture frames in galleries. They want the government to end all new oil and gas exploration and have promised not to let up in its protests until it does so.
A few weeks ago, three activists from Just Stop Oil threw soup at two of Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” paintings at London’s National Gallery. This incident occurred just hours after two other members of the protest group were sentenced to prison for a similar act in 2022.
