As we mourn the victims of terror in Paris, Turkey, Syria and beyond, it is important to examine the link between oil and war.
Isis are funded in large part by oil revenues coming from the oil wells they have captured in Iraq and Syria.
Pippa Bartolotti, Wales Green Party leader said, “Isis make about $1.5m a day from oil. Planet warming mitigation measures are not in their interests. The Ankara (Turkish) bombings killed peace protesters and a founder of the Turkish Greens.Isis likes war, they like oil, they like climate change because it brings instability, as in Syria and Africa. It should not be a surprise that they targeted Paris and COP 21.
“The savage irony is that people in Iraq and Syria who are fighting Isis are having to buy their oil from Isis. When we break the link between oil and energy we will have more stability and peace.
“Wales, with its extremely high levels of available renewable energy, is very well placed to break that link. Unfortunately both the UK government and the Welsh government prefer to pander to the fossil fuelled status quo, with its inherent risks to global stability and market manipulation.”
Pippa Bartolotti uses public transport, has an electric car and the electricity she uses is 100% renewable. “We can all live very comfortable lives without burning oil. I do. The choice of fuel is entirely political. Wales can and should disentangle us all from fossil fuels and the insecurity they bring.”