Just Stop Oil supporters from Devon are slow marching in London every day this week to demand the UK government to immediately end all new oil, gas, and coal developments.  

They make up a team of 86 members from the South West, bringing chaos to key London roads as part of a slow marching campaign that is now in its twelfth week. 

The marches have been taking place against a backdrop of increasingly alarming climate news stories. Last week, Earth experienced its hottest ever temperatures, breaking records four days in a row.

United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres stated that 'climate change is out of control' and that 'if we persist in delaying key measures that are needed, I think we are moving into a catastrophic situation.'

One of those marching was Dave Kilroy, 63, a dad of two from Plymouth. Dave said:  

'Nobody likes it when an alarm rings, they're annoying and disruptive – usually something bad happens if we ignore it. Well we’ve been ignoring the climate emergency alarm for too long, so I'm marching to sound it louder! 

'I’m marching because the government is ignoring the seriousness of the climate emergency. If it was doing its job it would have refused all applications for new oil, gas and coal exploration. The fact they haven’t reveals a worrying insanity. 

'The United Nations, International Energy Agency and all the world’s top scientists are saying we can have no new oil and gas if we’re to secure a liveable future for our kids. 

'So please, please listen to what we're saying – and don't dismiss us as zealots. We’re doing this because we care and because this situation is so urgent.'

He is joined by Matthew Hill, 36, an environmental science student from Exeter, who said: 

'I was involved in organising a non-disruptive mass protest on Earth Day 2023, where 60,000 people all lay down in the streets outside of Parliament at the same time, representing biodiversity loss and ecological collapse. We filled the roads with our bodies for nearly a mile across Westminster. Yet the government and the media entirely ignored it. 

'I don’t want to be here doing this, but unless protest is disruptive it’s largely ignored – and this issue can’t be ignored. There’s too much at stake for all of us.'

While critics of Just Stop Oil argue that their actions impact those less responsible for carbon emissions and that they may be turning people away from the climate crisis, the organisation insist that their actions are just and proportionate to the threat of climate change and are necessary to get the issue on the political agenda.

Since the Just Stop Oil campaign launched on 14th February 2022, there have been over 2,100 arrests and 138 people have spent time in prison, many without trial. There are currently two supporters serving three year prison sentences for resisting new oil, gas and coal.