Extinction Rebellion Sheffield and Act Now drama group held demonstrations on Wednesday outside both Sheffield City Hall and Town Hall in protest of alleged ‘greenwashing’ by the government.
World leaders have met in Glasgow for the Conference of the Parties to outline their targets concerning climate change for the 26th time since the event began.
However the display on Wednesday afternoon claimed the goals of governments and large companies, such as those in the fossil fuel industry, were ‘misdirections’.
Greenwashing refers to a marketing tactic whereby a group may use advertising or PR, or issue policies that suggest they are dedicated to an environmental cause, when in reality they achieve much less than they propose.
At the protest, spokespersons for Extinction Rebellion Sheffield said: “Oil companies are the biggest culprits. If you look at their television advertising, they have adverts full of windmills saying how they will push for renewable energy. They are emphasising one percent of what they do.”
Oil and gas company Shell was recently accused of greenwashing by comedian and presenter Joe Lycett in his Channel 4 documentary Joe Lycett Vs the Oil Giant. His report discovered Shell directed $900m to renewable energy, just 0.78 percent of their $116bn annual investment pot.
Act Now filmed an additional video to highlight a petition by environmental organisation The Green New Deal to create 10,000 ‘good green jobs’ in Sheffield and South Yorkshire, offering economic benefit and establishing a sector of environmentally conscious professions.
Richard Teasdale from Act Now said: “We have got to transition away from fossil fuels. The fossil fuel industry would like to do it later rather than sooner. We need to do it immediately.”
“The jobs people have in the oil industry, those people will need new jobs in say renewables. We need more wind turbines, we need more solar panels on houses.”
The campaign covers other areas of the workforce too.
Janice Brown from Act Now said: “Green jobs also include nurses, teachers and social care workers. It is not just creating stuff, it is how we care for each other as well.”
Act Now also said such green jobs would include alternatives to the boiler and gas industry, for instance retrofitting houses with insulation.
Another rally is due to take place Saturday November 6 at Devonshire Green at 12pm in a global day of action for climate justice, hosted by Sheffield Climate Campaign Umbrella Group.
