East Sussex campaigners with giant oil barrel hand-in 5,236-strong petition at County Hall

Campaigners carrying a 7ft by 4ft ‘oil barrel’ bearing the words ‘Tax Big Oil / Divest Now’ handed-in a 5,236-strong petition at County Hall in Lewes on Tuesday (March 21).

The petition, which has been signed by 5,236 people from across East Sussex and Brighton & Hove, demands that East Sussex County Council (ESCC) ‘stops investing in fossil fuels, and that it publicly supports a proper permanent windfall tax on Big Oil and a rapid transition to a system that provides affordable green energy for everyone’.

This should be enough signatures to trigger a debate on these issues at the council’s meeting on May 9.

If so, then this would be the second time in less than four years that members of the public have forced the council to debate its continued investment in fossil fuels.

The petition has the support of a wide range of local organisations including: BrightonEnergy Co-op, Eastbourne Climate Coalition, Divest East Sussex, Energise Sussex Coast, Frack Free Sussex, Friends of the Earth Brighton & Hove, Hastings & District Trades Council, Just Stop Oil – Sussex University, Lewes Climate Hub, Seaford Environmental Alliance, South East Climate Alliance, Transition Town Lewes, Weald Action Group, XR Eastbourne and XR Hastings & St Leonards.

The East Sussex Pension Fund, which covers Brighton & Hove as well as East Sussex, is administered by East Sussex County Council.

It currently has tens of millions of pounds of local people’s pension monies invested in the giant oil and gas companies, like Shell and BP, that are driving the climate crisis.

In September, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated: "We need to hold fossil fuel companies and their enablers to account. That includes the banks, private equity, asset managers and other financial institutions that continue to invest and underwrite carbon pollution.”

He also called ‘on all developed economies to tax the windfall profits of fossil fuel companies’.

He said: “Those funds should be re-directed in two ways: to countries suffering loss and damage caused by the climate crisis; and to people struggling with rising food and energy prices.”

In a similar vein, climate lawyer Tessa Khan said: “The loophole [in the current ‘windfall tax’ on companies like Shell] amounts to us effectively giving £11billion to oil and gas companies … enough to make sure that every NHS worker and every teacher in the UK gets an inflation matching pay rise.”

Pension Fund member and lead-petitioner Sarah Hazlehurst said: “By clinging on to its remaining investments in fossil fuel companies ESCC is effectively providing a fig-leaf for these companies’ ongoing attempts to block effective climate action.“By contrast, a public commitment to ditch these investments (‘divestment’) would send a powerful signal to policymakers to get serious about tackling the climate emergency, which requires the rapid phasing out of fossil fuels.

"These companies are driving the climate crisis: it’s time for ESCC to make a public commitment to fully divest from them.

‘Likewise, ESCC should be publicly supporting a proper windfall tax on Big Oil.

"Such a tax could be used to help protect those struggling to pay for food and energy, as well as those suffering as a result of the climate crisis.

"A public statement of support for such a move from ESCC would put significant pressure on the government to change policy, precisely because this is a Tory-controlled council.”

Tuesday's action was part of a week of action calling for divestment, taking place around the UK.

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