On 6 November, halfway through the COP26 Climate Summit, 150 people joined a rally at Horse Hill organised by the Horse Hill Protection Group.
Campaigners, families, local residents and people from further afield came to show their support for the campaign against expansion of oil drilling at Horse Hill – and to demand climate justice and end to fossil fuels.
Speakers included activist Deb Mallard, who gave a brief outline of campaigning at Horse Hill; campaigner Sarah Finch, whose legal case against Surrey County Council over Horse Hill oil will be heard in the Court of Appeal on 16-17 November; Dave Timms, Head of Political Affairs at Friends of the Earth; 16-year-old activist Chloe Pearce; and local resident and parish councillor Lisa Scott. Artist Heather Ackroyd read a poem by writer and campaigner Ben Okri.
Messages of solidarity were played or read out from campaigners fighting the proposed Whitehaven coal mine in Cumbria, the Cambo oil field off the coast of Shetland, and UK-funded Liquid Natural Gas sites in Mozambique – all cases, along with Horse Hill, that threaten the UK’s climate reputation.
- Sarah Finch’s legal challenge over Horse Hill will be heard in the Court of Appeal on 16-17 November 2021. The case concerns Surrey County Council’s decision not to take into account the full climate impact of the proposed expansion and 20 years of oil production at Horse Hill. Sarah argues that the environmental impact assessment used as part of the decision-making process should have considered all the climate impacts of the development – including greenhouse gas emissions which arise when the oil produced at the site is used. See: wealdactiongroup.org.uk/horse-hill-appeal