Retired Winsford doctor joins Extinction Rebellion in protest

Kathy Fallon, a retired GP, took part in a protest organised by Health for Extinction Rebellion (HXR) against the oil industry.

Around 60 physicians, surgeons, GPs and nurses gather outside the Energy Intelligence Forum, a meeting of industry experts which HXR has rebranded “the oil and money conference”.

They held a ‘climate inquest’ outside the conference before delivering a letter to organisers and delegates, calling them out on their role climate crisis and demanding action.

“We wish to make it clear that we understand and condemn the continuing deliberate complicity of the energy sector in this humanitarian disaster,” they wrote.

Dr Fallon said: “Governments and companies that continue to finance and license new coal, oil and gas are doing so at the expense of their citizens.

“Fossil fuels are the drivers of deadly climate change and air pollution in our communities.

“This is an industry that has delayed and denied climate change for decades in the name of greed, putting profit above all else, and from a health and a moral perspective it's beyond time to shut it down.”

Activists held a mock inquest outside the forum (Image: Extinction Rebellion)

The Energy Intelligence Forum took place at the InterContinental hotel on Park Lane in London between October 17 and 19.

During HXR’s mock inquest, health workers gave testimony on the deaths they say have been caused by the climate crisis.

This includes six million every year from air pollution, five million from extreme temperatures, and the 43,000 who died from a drought and famine in Somalia last year.

Activists also held up ‘cigarette-style’ health warnings and a banner which read “Fossil Fuels Kill”, drawing a parallel with the tobacco industry which HXR say was complicit in the deaths of 100,000s if not millions of deaths by misleading the public.

Extinction Rebellion members staged the protest outside the forum at the InterContinental hotel on Park Lane in London (Image: Extinction Rebellion)

A spokesperson for the forum said: “We believe the protests at the Energy Intelligence Forum last week reaffirm the need for constructive dialogue on climate change and the low-carbon transition.

 “The Energy Intelligence Forum is a platform for discussing the biggest issues in energy. The issue of climate change was presented and discussed constructively throughout the conference.

  “We believe the challenging process of reinventing the world's energy system requires the cooperation and collaboration of all sides. 

  “We are committed to bringing together stakeholders in the energy system – governments, companies, finance, civil society, and academia – to discuss the best way forward for the world.”