Greta Thunberg detained at fossil fuel subsidy protest in Brussels

Climate activist Greta Thunberg was among scores detained on Saturday after staging a sit-in protest demanding an end to EU subsidies for fossil fuels.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg was arrested by Belgian police on Saturday as she demonstrated against fossil fuel subsidies by the European Union.

The Swedish activist was joined by dozens of demonstrators from ‘United for Climate Justice’ and “Extinction Rebellion’ as they blocked a key road in Brussels, only a few kilometres from the European Parliament and European Commission buildings.

Protesters were surrounded by police and several were arrested whilst onlookers chanted ‘you are not alone’ as they were detained.

Last week, ‘United for Climate Justice’ penned an open letter to the European Union as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Von der Leyen urged her incoming team in the next Commission to begin phasing out subsidies for oil and gas, but a report published last October showed the EU still spends more than 100 billion euros a year subsidising the industry.

In the open letter, ‘United for Climate Justice’ set out their three goals of setting a timeline to phase out fossil fuel subsidies by 2025, adopt a comprehensive methodological guidance for EU Member States as well as a framework for transparency and accountability.

In a statement to Euronews, the group’s spokesperson Angela Huston Gold said she demonstrated “because the climate crisis has reached catastrophic and deadly levels.”

“The European Commission has committed to stop subsidising the fossil industries in the 8th EAP (Environmental Action Programme), yet continues to support oil and gas with hundreds of billions of euros of subsidies each year.

Our open letter calls on the Commission to do what it has promised, starting with setting a timeline and methodology for the phase out.”

Gold said the group needed to use marches, letters, lawsuits and civil disobedience to disrupt and call attention to the climate crisis as she says “we know they (the European Commission) will not listen.”

The group plans to continue and scale-up action across both Europe and Brussels – with some in attendance passing out stickers advertising further action to be taken later in October.