Climate change protesters gather near coal giant Peabody in ... - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Climate change protesters gather near coal giant Peabody in downtown St. Louis on Friday
Climate change protesters marched and chanted in downtown St. Louis midday Friday in front of the headquarters for Peabody, one of the largest private-sector coal producers in the world.
“Phase out fossil fuels … save our future,” the group of roughly 30 people chanted near the Citygarden Sculpture Park at Eighth and Market streets.
Ken Denson, who lives in Chesterfield, is the co-leader of the 350 STL advocacy group that tackles climate issues. “Everybody knows fossil fuels are going away eventually,” he said. “What we are saying is that they have to go away as soon as possible.
“The more fossil fuels we put up there [in the atmosphere] the more heat we are going to lock in,” he said.
In 2019, the Climate Accountability Institute analyzed fossil fuel companies emitting the most carbon emissions and Peabody was 12th on the list with 15.39 billion metric tons.
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Peabody had not responded to a request for comment as of late Friday afternoon.
Under the noon sun Friday, one chanter yelled, “When our world is under attack what do we do?”
“Stand up, fight back,” the group hollered.
Many of the protesters waved signs reading, “Let the dinosaurs rest in peace,” or “Give the gas a pass.”
Hazel Johnston, who started her own advocacy group called Teens for Climate STL spoke at the event. “Without strong action, things will only get worse.”
One protester saw the turnout as underwhelming. “The amount of people that are here right now is really sad,” said Megan McCalla, who is from Los Angeles but now lives in the Tower Grove South neighborhood.
“This weather is going to keep on getting worse and this subject is taboo in a red state,” said McCalla. “We should be out here protesting every weekend, this is the number one crisis.”
Global investment in clean energy is rising and is now set to outpace spending on fossil fuels for the first time ever.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate diplomacy
Talks are well underway in preparation for the next major international meeting on climate change, 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), scheduled to begin Nov. 30 in the United Arab Emirates.
Much like last year’s COP27, finances — specifically, aid to developing nations — will be at the center of conference deliberations.
The conference faces an even greater sense of urgency brought on by the Sept. 8, 2023, release of the first global stocktake, which calls for accelerated action to meet the goals set in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement (COP21).
Climate diplomacy: COP 27 | Climate diplomacy: COP 28 | Climate diplomacy: COP 29