The Big One

Business Declares was a partner of the The Big One - a major gathering outside Parliament, initiated by Extinction Rebellion with the goal of bringing 100,000 people together in Westminster to demand the ending of all new fossil fuel licences, and to better take into account citizens’ concerns on the climate, ecological and social emergency into democracy and decision making by political leaders. The demonstrations took place from 21st - 24th April 2023.

On 21st April 2023, a coalition of over 350 Business Leaders joined Business Declares to join a mass protest against the government’s plans to license new fossil fuels. 

This coalition of business leaders joined a picket outside of The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to demand that the government stop licensing new fossil fuels and instead back a transition to a fossil fuel free era.

The protest was part of a four-day event, known as “The Big One” organised by Extinction Rebellion (XR) and involving an estimated 100,000 people from over 200 wide-ranging partner organisations ranging from Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth through to Quakers in Britain and The Diocese of London.

This level of protest by the business community is unprecedented in modern times – especially when you consider that most of the business leaders attending had never been to a protest before.

Support for the protest, in our view, is because businesses are increasingly losing patience with the government and many in the business sector have become so frustrated and outraged by the UK government’s drive to licence new fossil fuel licenses, that they feel compelled to show their support for campaigns against this policy.

The business sector clearly recognises that locking the country into fossil fuels will ultimately lead to higher costs, job insecurity and market insecurity – which business hates. But there is also a more fundamental level here too – which is personal, emotional and existential. The science tells us that the world must rapidly shift away from burning fossil fuels — the number one cause of the climate crisis. Leading organisations such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that we needed to end fossil fuel extraction in 2021; leading figures including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres agree. And of course we all see the more frequent and severe climate events playing out before our eyes, destroying lives and devastating families.