BP and RBS targetted by Tar Sands Tour

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Dear AGM-stormers,

A lot has happened since our last newsletter: our First Nations crew (Clayton, Jasmine and Melina) have arrived, we’ve made new friends from various corners of the world, been dragged out of the Excel Centre, gained a load of media coverage and kept tar sands well and truly on BP’s agenda. And, best of all, we’ve been labelled ‘winners’ by the Financial Times! What a week!

But the fun continues, as we’ve just arrived in Edinburgh to give RBS a piece of our minds! A big thank you to everyone who has helped make the Tar Sands Tour so successful.

1. Tar Sands Tour so far… BP pandemonium
2. Now it’s RBS’s turn

Love from the Tar Sands Tour Team,

Emily, Jess, Sue, Melina, Jasmine, Clayton and Felix

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1. Tar Sands Tour so far… BP pandemonium

Tuesday: “Calling BP to account”

An excellent start to an insane week, our launch event at Rich Mix saw an unusual alliance form between investors, First Nations representatives, fishermen and women from the Gulf of Mexico, NGOs and activists, all driven by a common anger with BP and passion to take action.

Thursday: BP AGM

BP’s AGM was, shall we say, eventful… There were protests, arrests and a global media feeding-frenzy. It all added up to one hell of a PR own goal for BP. Read the whole story and watch a hilarious video of the action we took that got ten of us kicked out of the AGM.

Friday: Transition Heathrow workshop

After pausing for a few hours to catch our breath, we headed over to visit the lovely folks at Transition Heathrow in the evening, for a tar sands workshop, a screening of the new film ‘Tipping Point’, and an inspiring and fruitful discussion about how we can link up in working towards positive alternatives to dirty oil.

Sunday: The Great BP-Sponsored Sleep-in

Returning to London’s heart and centre of art, we targeted the Tate Modern with Rising Tide’s Great BP-Sponsored Sleep-In. Spot Steve’s teddy in this film of the action, which our film crew (Felix from You and I Films) edited on the train on the way up to Scotland (above).

2. Now it’s RBS’s turn

Today, our friends at Rainforest Action Network have released some red-hot new research: since being bailed out by UK taxpayers in 2008, RBS has raised more than £5.6 billion for companies operating in the tar sands. A whopping £1.2 billion of that total was raised in the last six months, at a time when the UK is experiencing devastating public spending cuts to pay off the deficit caused by the bank bailout. This makes us hopping mad. If only there was a way for us to communicate that to RBS… 😉

Today: People’s AGM

This evening, we will join with our friends from WDM, Friends of the Earth Scotland, People & Planet, PLATFORM and SEAD to hold a ‘People’s AGM’ where we will pass all the motions that the real AGM will continue to ignore.

Tuesday: RBS AGM:

We will return to RBS’s HQ (verdant site of 2010’s Climate Camp) to have a presence both inside and outside the AGM. Inside, Jasmine Thomas will challenge RBS for its involvement in financing Enbridge, which is trying to build a pipeline right through her community. Outside, activists will engage with shareholders.

Follow us on twitter for the latest updates and photos of our shenanigans: @NoTarSands