London, October 18, 2023 – In a dramatic turn of events, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was detained by UK police on Tuesday during a protest outside the annual Energy Intelligence Forum in London. The arrest came as the 20-year-old environmental campaigner decried what she referred to as “closed door” agreements between politicians and representatives of the oil and gas industry.
Thunberg, known for her passionate advocacy against climate change, was forcibly removed from the protest by two police officers and placed into the back of a police van outside the venue. She had been joining a mass protest organized by pressure groups Fossil Free London and Greenpeace, which aimed to disrupt the gathering under the slogan “Oily Money Out.”
During her brief address to journalists before her detention, Thunberg passionately criticized politicians for making deals and compromises with lobbyists from the fossil fuel industry behind closed doors. She stated, “Behind these closed doors, spineless politicians are making deals and compromises with lobbyists from (the) destructive fossil fuel industry.”
The protest, which involved several hundred demonstrators blocking all entrances to the Energy Intelligence Forum outside the InterContinental London Park Lane hotel, was focused on highlighting the carbon-intensive sector’s continued investments in fossil fuels and its role in worsening climate change.
Thunberg, a prominent figure in the global climate action movement, further expressed her concern, saying, “The world is drowning in fossil fuels. Our hopes and dreams and lives are being washed away by a flood of greenwashing and lies. It has been clear for decades that the fossil fuel industries were well aware of the consequences of their business models, and yet, they have done nothing. The opposite – they have actively delayed, distracted, and denied the causes of the climate crisis and spread doubts about their own engagement in it.”
The arrest of Greta Thunberg in the midst of the protest has sparked intense debate about the urgent need for climate action and the role of fossil fuel industries in the ongoing environmental crisis. This incident serves as a stark reminder of the growing global demand for meaningful change and a shift toward cleaner, sustainable energy sources. The Energy Intelligence Forum in London is scheduled to continue until Thursday, with the climate protest expected to draw continued attention and discussions on climate policy and the future of the energy sector.
