Climate activists with Extinction Rebellion – here in a demo outside the main London Fashion Week venue on February 17, 2019 – targeted the International Petroleum Week gathering of industry executives (NIKLAS HALLE’N)

London (AFP) – British police arrested nine environmental activists who tried to disrupt an international conference of oil and gas bigwigs in London by gluing themselves to the venue doors on Wednesday.

Officers detained the protesters after they targeted the annual International Petroleum (IP) Week gathering of industry executives, being held at the Intercontinental Park Lane Hotel.

“Officers attended and discovered a number of people had glued themselves to windows,” a spokeswoman for London’s Metropolitan Police said.

“Nine people have been arrested on suspicion of offences including aggravated trespass and criminal damage.”

Extinction Rebellion, a network of climate activists who use civil disobedience to spotlight inaction on global warming, said it organised the stunt “to highlight the industry’s deeply immoral and criminal behaviour”.

“These companies are destroying our planet,” added activist Sam Knights, in a statement released by the group. 

“We have to start talking about that. We all have a moral duty to stop them.”

IP Week promotes itself as “the place where oil and gas operators, clients and investors meet to form new partnerships”.

Listed speakers at this year’s event included Britain’s International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and the chief executive of oil giant Saudi Aramco. 

Extinction Rebellion said in its statement that security staff at the venue had attempted to shield attendees from seeing the demonstration.

“After failing to pull off activists who had glued themselves to the doors, security staff at the hotel erected screens outside the building in an attempt to cover up the protestors,” it added.

The group, which says it has spread to 65 countries since launching in Britain in October, wants governments around the world to pass laws leading to a reduction of net carbon emissions to zero by 2025 and to reduce consumption levels.

It announced on Wednesday plans for a series of protests in Britain, including an attempt to blockade the main Channel port of Dover on March 30 — the day after Britain is due to leave the European Union — and a week of demonstrations in central London in April.  

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