The winding down of the G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia brought out youth fighting for their future and trying to stop the branding of the summit by the fossil fuel industry. They laughed in the face of the lies being peddled by coal giant Peabody Energy.
Guardian UK
In the corporatised and coal-company sponsored cocoon of a pre-G20 talkfest in Brisbane, the burst of vocal protest came like a sudden jolt of the reality of life outside. “Peabody – we don’t want your coal,” came the loud but brief interlude from seven young climate change campaigners who rose to their feet to shout down Glenn Kellow, the chief operating officer of Peabody Energy, the world’s biggest privately owned coal company.
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Peabody Energy, the world’s biggest privately-owned coal company, was the sole sponsor of the Global Café energy event, plugged by organisers Brisbane Marketing as a chance to explore the challenges of powering the economies of the world.
The youth campaigners from the Australian Youth Climate Coalition were handing out an open letter, which had been co-signed by youth climate groups from 30 different countries. Excerpt from letter:
We are compelled to write this letter because we believe that the coal lobby, led by Peabody Energy (the largest coal company in the world), is trying to unduly influence the outcome of the G20 Summit. Their agenda represents a threat to young people and future generations, and we urge you to listen to our message over that of vested interests.
They claim that their industry will benefit the world’s poor. But we know that the rapid expansion of the industry will cost those living under the poverty line their health and clean air - and they are also the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
Fossil fuel companies have been successful in
controlling the branding of climate talks, including the COP19 held last year in Warsaw which saw the green groups and protestors leave the talks in mass to protest the messaging take over by the fossil fuel industry.