10th October 2024 marked the 1st anniversary since Just Stop Oil’s signature orange made a splash on Streatham campus. On this day, George Simonson, a supporter of Just Stop Oil, climbed upon the Forum entrance and threw cans of paint over the windows. Unveiling a banner, he addressed the quickly forming crowd:
“My name is George, I’m 23, and I’m f***ing terrified. I’m terrified, because the climate crisis is going to ruin all of our lives.”
George protested the university’s complicity in the UK government’s decision to continue licencing new fossil fuel infrastructure, which he said was a “death sentence.”
“People are literally going to die as a result of this government’s actions… The academics at this university are saying the same thing.”
“I’ve thrown paint on this building, because the university is not acting in line with what its scientists are saying.”
Large crowds gathered over the whole of the Forum steps area. Occasionally cheering or heckling, they missed lectures to watch the full ordeal, which lasted over 3 hours.
One year on, the Forum’s windows are as clean as ever, and George is in prison. Although it may be difficult to determine whether Just Stop Oil’s protests and the new government’s commitment to no new oil are causally linked, they’ve kept the issue high in the national conversation, and forced politicians to take a stance.
As the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events increase, such as the hurricanes and tornados devastating Southeastern US in recent weeks, so too do climate protests, and the harsh sentences for such actions, increase.
Exeposé reached out to George about his experience with the action.
George is currently serving 24 months in prison after being found guilty for ‘public nuisance’ for another action. In November 2022, after a summer which saw temperatures over 40°C in the UK for the first time, George and several other Just Stop Oil supporters climbed onto gantries over the M25.
Despite increasingly harsh sentences for non-violent protests, people remain resolute in their cause and actions. From prison, George commented:
“I never thought that I’d do anything like this until I started learning about the true horror of the climate crisis. Knowing that our government was continuing fossil fuel extraction, despite knowing the deadly consequences, caused me to step out of my comfort zone, and do things I never could have imagined.”
[The University] is an institution full of contradictions. Some of my initial education on the climate crisis was from University of Exeter academics.
George Simonson
Part of his reasoning for taking action at the University of Exeter is the inconsistency between what the leading climate scientists here are saying, and what the university does. Commenting on the controversial partnership between the university and oil company, Shell, George explained:
“It’s an institution full of contradictions. Some of my initial education on the climate crisis was from University of Exeter academics. People like James Dyke, who published a key paper detailing the refugee crisis that is inevitable over the next few decades, due to oil and gas emissions.”
“Academics are publishing some of the most important information about the climate crisis, while the institution itself continues to give legitimacy to the fossil fuel companies that are causing it.”
Approached for comment, Dr James Dyke, an Associate Professor in Earth System Science, and the Assistant Director of the Global Systems Institute (GSI), said:
“The University of Exeter is very proud of its work on the climate and ecological crisis. When it comes to what we should do, the message is very clear: we must keep fossil fuels in the ground.”
“Just Stop Oil protestors and other activists have used direct non-violent protest to try to get the UK government to act. The response has been new laws that significantly increases jail terms for protest, while criminalising previously lawful protest. This is shameful.”
On the action itself, George recollects some memorable moments.
“Someone threw a bag of food up to me, and then immediately got stopped and searched by the police. Thank you to whoever that was – it was a great sandwich!”
“As I climbed onto the doorway of the Forum, I knew that it was going to be an intense experience. In the end, I got down because I needed the loo, my voice had gone from shouting, and I was absolutely knackered.”
The trial for the action is coming up in late October, for which George says the university is “fully cooperating with the prosecution, offering evidence and witnesses” against him. Paul Bell (24), an Exeter PhD student researching climate impacts, has recently been released from prison for the same gantry action as George. Having supported each other inside, Paul said
“When we were given those incredible sentences, it didn’t seem real, one of those messed up ‘pinch me’ moments…. When we were in our cells and starting to get used to prison life, we could lean on each other for those difficult first days on the induction wing.”
“George is a dear friend and a true revolutionary. It is awful that such a bright young guy is in prison, but I know he wouldn’t want others to feel sorry for him. He’d want us to step up and change things.”
To mark the anniversary of the action, Youth Demand, a campaign grown out of Just Stop Oil students, threw leaflets off the Forum’s balconies. In addition to climate action, the group demands a two-way arms embargo with Israel, and have locally been supporting the Exeter Liberation Encampment for Palestine (ELE4PAL). On a backdrop of banners reading “Youth Demand Liberation Now” and “Stop Deadly Research”, the leaflets raining down read “DIRECT ACTION WORKS.”
George is doing well in prison, he remains resolute in the need for direct action to achieve the radical change our society needs.
The University press office were approached for comment.
