BREAKING: ACTIVISTS SMASH GLASS DOORS AT OIL & GAS RESEARCH CENTRE
On Monday night, activists from This is Not A Drill returned to the Schlumberger Cambridge Research Centre to smash their windows in protest of the oilfield service’s company’s extractivst activity. The group, who have staged similar protests at the centre and at other sites in Oxford and Cambridge over the last year, are known for targeting sites with oil and gas connections.
In an email, an activist said: “A top climate scientist recently released a report saying the University needs to stop working with fossil fuel companies. Not exactly a shock – from Ecuador to Uganda, people have been talking for decades about the devastating impact of SLB’s oil and gas extraction. But the report ultimately vindicates what This is Not a Drill have been doing, which is taking direct action against these companies in the face of university (and governmental) failure to act.”
The report referred to is the “Grace on fossil fuel industry ties” report, compiled by former UN High Level Champion for Climate Action, Nigel Topping [1]. Although the report recommended that the university should cut financial ties with fossil fuel companies, student and community activists have criticised Topping for not encouraging swift or decisive enough action, and for leaving loopholes which allow the university to continue to work with the “green” subsidiaries of oil and gas companies [2].
This is the fourth time the group have staged a protest at the oilfield services provider’s research building, which is linked with remote drilling, oil exploration and fracking research. Most recently, they smashed a large number of windows on the front of the building [3].
Another activist said: “SLB’s days in Cambridge are numbered, and they know it. They haven’t even repaired their windows since last time people struck there. We went to finish the job. The door’s wide open now – it’s time for them to leave.”
About This is Not a Drill:
This Is Not a Drill is an “action reporting site” – it does not know about the actions reported to it before they happen and it doesn’t know who carries them out. It values anonymity highly and encourages direct action against fossil fuels and other ecocidal industries.
Email: contact@thisisnotadrill.info
REFERENCES
[1] https://www.cam.ac.uk/notices/grace-on-fossil-fuel-industry-ties; https://www.ft.com/content/54d9087f-1f49-4a29-8e79-ca74591590e6