By james art Activists from Extinction Rebellion Scotland held ‘zombie dances’ outside the Glasgow offices of insurance firms Howden, AIG and AXA, all of which they say provide insurance to fossil fuel projects.
As well as performances by the Killer Drillers – a dance routine inspired by Michael Jackson – protesters also heard speeches and a musical performance and chanted “No more gas, no more oil, keep the carbon in the soil”.
Campaigners described insurance as the “weak point” of the fossil fuel industry and said firms could be “climate heroes” if they chose not to insure projects.
Lois Legendre, 44, a senior engineer and climate activist, said: “The UN Code Red for humanity should be clear enough, we should have given up fossil fuels decades ago, have new fossil fuel projects now, in 2024. , is pure madness.
“Insurance is the weak point that can prevent the fossil fuel industry from digging and drilling for more oil, gas and coal.
“The insurance industry can see the cost of extreme weather events that are already flooding our homes, destroying our food supplies and threatening to kill billions in our lifetime.
“They can be climate heroes by refusing to support the fossil fuel industry and help save our entire civilization and the biosphere we rely on for our lives.”
“We demand that these companies and the entire insurance industry immediately stop insuring all new oil, gas and coal projects – and we will keep going back until they do.”
The protest was part of the Extinction Rebellion Insure our Survival campaign, which will see protests across the UK this week.
A Howden spokesman said: “We are aware of protest action targeting a number of UK insurance companies this week. We have taken steps to ensure the security of our premises and the safety of our employees and visitors.
“Howden is committed to playing an active role in the transition to net zero, and we believe we can have a greater impact by working with customers to accelerate their decarbonisation than by separating ourselves from them.
“We have invested significantly in developing the solutions and driving the change our industry needs to play its critical role in reducing the risks to both the continued development of alternative energy sources and the decarbonisation of existing ones.”
AIG and AXA were approached for comment.