In March, a mobilization of frontline community leaders and environmental and social justice advocates gathered in Houston, Texas to confront the corporate billionaires and fossil fuel executives at CERAWeek, the Super Bowl of oil and gas conferences.
We’re in the midst of the biggest fossil fuel buildout of our lifetimes: methane gas (aka liquefied “natural” gas or LNG) expansion across the US Gulf South, including Texas. At CERAWeek, people in power make decisions behind closed doors that impact all of our futures – especially frontline communities. That’s why hundreds showed up to connect, learn from each other, and make our shared opposition known: the Gulf is not a sacrifice zone! Everyone deserves clean air, safe water, a livable climate, and an equitable future.
One of the pivotal connection points was a massive art build with the Climate Justice Museum. Movement art is a critical part of community building, bringing people together to create powerful narrative-shifting visuals that challenge messages typically shaped by companies that spend millions on advertising.
Hundreds marched through downtown Houston, carrying banners that read “break the system, build the future,” and filling the streets with chants of “we need clear air, not another billionaire!”
Advocates also confronted companies more directly, like a demonstration calling out Japan Bank for International Corporation (JBIC), one of the world’s top public financiers of fossil fuel projects, including LNG terminals in the Gulf. Some even got to speak with CEOs and other execs, making demands face-to-face.
This was a vital moment to challenge polluters in the heart of oil and gas country, as fossil fuel expansion continues to threaten communities, public health, ecosystems, and our shared climate.