Greta Thunberg was arrested Tuesday during a protest outside of a luxury five-star hotel in London, where an oil and gas conference formerly known as the “Oil and Money” conference is being held.
The 20-year-old was attending a demonstration organized by climate advocacy group Fossil Free London outside the Intercontinental Hotel, which is currently hosting the Energy Intelligence Forum. The forum is an annual summit that brings together chief executives from oil and gas companies, including TotalEnergies, Shell, and Aramco.
London’s Metropolitan Police did confirm in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, that there were several arrests made outside the hotel but would not confirm whether or not Thunberg was one of the people arrested. However, photos and videos across the platform show Thunberg being arrested by police, including a post from Fossil Free London.
Before being arrested Thunberg spoke at a press conference earlier in the day, she called out “spineless politicians” for meeting with oil industry lobbyists, according to Greenpeace, who was also at the protest.
Thunberg and other protestors were blocking the entrance to the hotel attempting to prevent delegates from entering.
In a statement released by Fossil Free London Thunberg said, “we have no choice but to disrupt [because] our world is being swept away by greenwashing and lies.”
She added: "The fossil fuel industry has actively distracted and delayed. They have created loopholes to allow their business to go on at the expense of the planet. We are choking from their fumes.”
According to Greenpeace, hundreds of demonstrators, including Thunberg, “faced a heavy police presence as they gathered in front of the Luxury Park Lane hotel to protest against the influence of the fossil fuel industry on UK and global climate politics.”
Greta Thunberg arrested
The organization also stated that protestors had blocked all the hotel entrances from 8 a.m. local time while two climbers descended from the top of the building, unrolling a large 98-foot banner that read “Make Big Oil Pay."
This is not the first time Thunberg has clashed with police over climate protests. In January, she was detained at a coal mine protest and in July she was fined by a Swedish court for disobeying police during a June protest that blocked oil tankers in part of Malmö harbor, Sweden.
- Greta Thunberg and 600 Youth File Lawsuit Against Swedish Government for Climate Change Inaction ›
- Biden Betrayed Our Generation by Greenlighting Willow Project ›
- Greta Thunberg Says World Leaders 'Continue to Fail' to Address Climate Change ›
- Greta Thunberg Removed From Climate Protest Hours After Court Hearing ›
