Today, November 12, 2019, we’ll gather at 5pm in front of the European Commission (Paseo de Gracia, 90). Extinction Rebellion Barcelona and 350BCN demand European political leaders to invest on life, completely ceasing the financing of all types of fossil fuels projects -including natural gas- by the European Investment Bank (EIB). This is an initial minimum step that must be taken to deal with the climate and ecological crises and establish a climate justice framework.
On November 14, the Minister of Economy and Business, Nadia Calviño, and the ministers of the other countries meet together and could make a decision. For this reason, we demonstrate, and we demand especially
- to the European Commission,
- to the governments of Germany, Italy, other countries that block the proposal,
- and the parties that are preparing to govern Spain after the 10th of November to take a stand and speak up.
It will be decided soon if the money of the Europeans will stop once
feeding the bonfire that burns the planet. The EIB is the largest public
financier in the world. So far, it has supported with our tax money
countless fossil fuel infrastructures, such as natural gas (2.5 billion euros in 2018; and more than 12 billion between 2013 and 2017).
In other words, we are fueling climate suicide while we could and should
be investing in a secure future and in the future we desire.
Finally, the EIB plans to stop financing fossil fuels. Europe can take a historic step to curb the climate crisis.
However, the European Commission, Germany and other lobbyists have substantially lowered the ambition of the initial proposal, leaving the door open to natural gas projects.
Continuing the investment of public money in fossil fuel projects will
exacerbate the climate and ecological crisis, whose consequences we
already perceive here, where we continue to count the deadly victims of
the ‘cold drop’, and that are already catastrophically affecting the
less privileged and most vulnerable people in the Global South, who have
historically less contributed to generate these crisis.
Extinction Rebellion maintains an unequivocal commitment to non-violence, as well as the conviction that only citizen mobilization can trigger and exert the necessary pressure to make the necessary decisions to reach emissions ‘zero’ as soon as possible. Today’s demonstration, following the style of XR throughout the world, will be filled with art and performances.
Love and rage,
XR Barcelona