Demonstrators spill fake oil outside Lloyd's HQ

Protest comes days after the organisation joined Net-Zero Insurance Alliance

Demonstrators spill fake oil outside Lloyd's HQ

Environmental

By Ryan Smith

Image credit: Insurance Rebellion

Climate protestors have spilled 220 gallons of fake oil outside the Lloyd’s of London headquarters Friday as part of a campaign to shine a light on the finance industry’s support of fossil fuels.

The climate activists were protesting Lloyd’s underwriting of fossil fuel projects, including a Canadian tar sands pipeline, according to a Bloomberg report. Police arrested one activist after climate group Insurance Rebellion dumped the fake oil – a plant- and water-based liquid – onto the street outside the Lloyd’s building.

The protest at Lloyd’s was part of a global day of protests meant to raise awareness of the finance sector’s role in climate change ahead of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Bloomberg reported.

Many insurers have pledged to meet net-zero targets – including Lloyd’s, which announced last week that it had joined the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance. Global insurers like AXIS have announced targets to divest from and stop insuring oil exploration projects and other fossil fuel-related activities.

However, climate activists want a total and immediate end to funding for fossil fuels, Bloomberg reported.

Friday’s protest wasn’t the first at Lloyd’s. The climate group Coal Action Network has now held multiple “climate justice memorials” outside the company’s London headquarters.

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