Extinction Rebellion Scotland zombies to target insurers of climate chaos

Time and date: 8.30am on Tuesday 29th October
Location: Howden Group, 144 West George Street, Glasgow, G2 2HG

Extinction Rebellion Scotland will hold a rally outside various offices of insurance companies that enable new fossil fuel projects, beginning with the Howden Group.

Activists dressed as zombies will perform a Killer Driller ‘discobedience’ dance routine outside the insurers’ offices. Activists will hold banners and placards saying ‘Stop insuring climate criminals!’, ‘Boycott Howden’ and ‘Don’t insure EACOP’ (East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline).

The action is part of Extinction Rebellion’s major campaign, Insure Our Survival. The campaign calls on the insurance industry to stop underwriting all new oil, gas and coal projects. The campaign will see high-profile protests and actions in the City of London before the campaign moves to towns and cities across the UK. Major insurance companies with offices in Glasgow have yet to rule out new fossil fuel projects, including Howden Group and others that will be targeted on the day.

Extinction Rebellion Scotland activists will present letters asking Howden Group and other brokers or insurers of new fossil fuel projects to publicly announce an immediate, complete and permanent withdrawal from brokering, insuring, reinsuring or underwriting all new oil, gas and coal projects.

In February, thousands of activists, in tandem with global campaign coalition Insure Our Future, staged a week-long series of actions across the world, including in Glasgow.

The campaign has had some successes. Giant global insurer Zurich announced that it would no longer insure new oil and gas projects. In the past week, Generali, which ranks among the top 20 insurers globally, became the first major insurer to cut ties with transition laggards in the fossil fuel industry [4].

Murdoch Wilson, retired NHS manager and spokesperson for XR Glasgow, said:

“Insurance companies are taking massive hits to their profits due to extreme weather events caused by global warming. But instead of turning off the tap of carbon pollution by stopping insuring coal, gas and oil projects they are increasing their prices for ordinary families and refusing to insure in some areas most at risk of fires and floods.

“This is deeply unfair, and the big polluters responsible for the extreme weather events should pay for the clean up.”

Robbie Kelly, 66, production editor, and spokesperson from XR Dundee said:

“That climate change is contributing to the severity and frequency of weather events like extreme heat, storms and flooding is unquestionable. The insurance industry is already facing marked increases in the number of claims by homeowners. Everything is getting more expensive, so repairs and replacements will cost insurers more to cover. Even at a local level, the damage caused by these weather events will mean we will all see increases in premiums, even for properties that aren’t directly affected.

“It’s insane that this industry should be enabling the oil and gas companies that are driving climate breakdown.”