Quakers petition prime minister to Make Polluters Pay
Quakers in Britain joined others to hand in a petition at 10 Downing Street urging Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Make Polluters Pay this week.
On 29 January, Billy Vaughan, public affairs officer at Quakers in Britain, joined Global Justice Now, Christian Aid, and Oxfam to present a 40,000 strong petition urging the prime minister to Make Polluters Pay.
This follows a Make Polluters Pay week of action last October, during which Quakers hosted a weekend of worship focussed on funding to help those affected by the irreversible impacts of climate disaster.
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The government must now commit to making polluters pay their fair share
- Billy Vaughan
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Today, Shell announced profits of £19bn while communities on the frontline of environmental breakdown remain without adequate compensation for the loss and damage they have suffered due to fossil fuel extraction.
Attending the petition hand-in, Vaughan said: “We are here today to show the government that the public want polluters to pay up for the environmental damage they have caused.
“The billions in profits announced by Shell today show that fossil fuel companies are more than capable of providing compensation to those they have impacted.
“The government must now commit to making polluters pay their fair share to communities in the Global South who have been affected most by climate change.
“Quakers have committed to work towards a different kind of economic system based on our belief in a fundamental human equality and respect for the Earth."
Quakers work with climate campaigners around the world to grasp the historical roots of these injustices, and create a fairer, sustainable world. Click here to learn more about this work.