On Wednesday a coalition of groups visited the City of London offices of 10 insurance companies who have not yet ruled out insuring the proposed East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) which TotalEnergies and China National Offshore are still trying to raise funding for.
Outside each office a masked actor, wearing the face and ID of the relevant CEO, poured oil over a globe, surrounded by smoke from flares and raven-like figures clicking their bony wings on the entrances.
Activists handed in letters asking the insurers to make a public commitment not to cover EACOP, a 1400 kilometre heated pipe running across Uganda and Tanzania, passing close to Lake Victoria. The project is set to displace thousands of Indigenous people, passing across ecologically diverse and wildlife rich regions, and despite the fact that Ugandan and Tanzanian activists are already facing serious repression when sounding the alarm, their voices are central to the global campaign against this project.
European insurers have already withdrawn, and several large UK businesses including AEGIS London, Arch Capital Group Ltd and Britam Holding have pulled out – a total of around 23 insurers and 24 banks have publicly disassociated.
The protest was supported by Money Rebellion, StopEACOPuk, Coal Action Network, and their oil spills were cleared up by a ‘Toxic Oil Cleanup Team’ wearing full hazmat, goggles and gloves.
The ten companies challenged were Chubb, Travelers Syndicate Management Limited, Lancashire Syndicates Limited, Chaucer Syndicates, Talbot Underwriting, Liberty Managing Agency, Hiscox Syndicates, AIG (American International Group) and Tokio Marine Kiln Syndicates, and they have been told to expect further disruption if they don’t drop this project now.
The action is followed by a digital online protest asking people to leave Google Reviews. Full details here.
