On Global Divestment Day on 13th-14th February thousands of people across 6 continents will turn out to take collective action against the influence and power of the fossil fuel industry. From Nottingham to Nepal, Birmingham to Burkina Faso we’ll be showing the strength of the growing global divestment movement and demanding our institutions go fossil free.
The call for action here in the UK comes from many places, and around Global Divestment Day the movement is out in force with a series of events and online pushes targeting the health, faith, university, local authority and bank decision makers, as well as personal and political action.
Find an event near you, get stuck in online and off, and follow the action on the Fossil Free Facebook, twitter and #divest.
Health
The health community kicked things off with the launch of the ‘Unhealthy Investments’ report, laying out the divestment case for the health community and putting the media spotlights on organisations such as the Wellcome Trust, lagging behind the British Medical Associations lead.
Faith
The Church of England will come under increased pressure to divest its £60 million holdings in fossil fuels during the General Synod this week. On Wed 11th christians will had in a giant Valentines card asking the church to ‘show the love’, and hold a Prayer Rally outside (6.30pm) calling the church to stand alongside their sisters and brothers affected by climate change across the world.
University
The annual Go Green Week is in full swing, with jam packed days of student action looking at engaging staff and standing up to greenwash on campus, fracking, dirty careers and culminating in divestment actions across the country. Students will be holding rallies, staging oil spills and their ‘reinvestment clean up’, touring divestment-inspired street theatre with a giant oil rig. Staff are leading the charge at Warwick with an open letter and rally.
Local Authority
Local authorities from Edinburgh to Oxford will also feel pressure to get public money out of fossil fuels through a series of public demonstrations, rallies and flash mobs around the country.
In London hundreds will gather at City Hall to demand the Greater London Authority backs up its environmental claims with a public commitment to going fossil free. Groups representing health workers, faith groups, unions, London boroughs and grassroots groups from local food growers, anti-frackers to ‘Divest Football’ will spell out ‘Divest London’ in giant letters. There will be speakers from impacted communities, and a symbolic flooding of City Hall with sea shanties and samba to demonstrate the devastating impacts of investment in fossil fuel (and a roving band of Borises). The demonstration comes weeks before a crucial vote on divestment at the Assembly.
Banks
Over a thousand people have put their banks ‘on notice’ and will be moving their money, divesting themselves and joining the ‘divestment party’ on Global Divestment Day, with actual parties and demonstrations planned in several branches around the country.
A demonstration on Saturday will be ‘flooding’ the financial centre in Leeds – complete with music and dinosaurs with the call to ‘Divest the North’.
Pensions
In the run up to Global Divestment Day, a campaign has been launched for us to demand fossil free pension and savings options. The #iwanttobreakfossilfree choir will be making an appearance at the City Hall event.
Political
In the next phase of an ongoing campaign to divest the MPs Pension Fund, and Early Day Motion supporting the divestment movement and Global Divestment Day has been tabled in parliament and is gathering signatures.
Showing the Love
As Global Divestment Day has fallen over Valentine’s Day, and taking action for divestment is about compassion and speaking up for things you love, we’ll be joining the ‘Show the Love’ campaign – wearing green hearts, showing what we love (#showthelove), and why we therefore must #divest.
See you on the streets! Let’s make fossil fuels history.