Bear the costs in solidarity for further D4C actions
Debt for Climate is a campaign led by activists from the Global South calling for debt relief for the countries of the Global South. After the colonial era, debt has taken over the function of allowing Western corporations to exploit countries, especially with exploiting raw materials.
Cressier is the only refinery in Switzerland that processes crude oil from countries in the South. Almost 40 % of the crude oil processed in Cressier comes from Nigeria. However, it is not the local population that benefits from this, but mainly the British-Dutch oil company Shell, the US American Exxon Mobil and the French Total Energies and Italian Eni.
The neo-colonial exploitation of Nigeria is being continued by these western corporations: Forests are being cleared, rivers poisoned, the air polluted and thus the local ecosystems destroyed. The population is thereby robbed of its livelihood.
Debt for Climate protested against this with a blockade on October 10th 2022. The access road to the refinery was blocked for hours, drawing attention to our cause. (See media review at ttps://www.debtforclimate.ch )
Six activists were arrested, the police, fire brigade and ambulance service were sent and, in addition to the criminal consequences, high costs were also charged to those young, non-violent people.
We didn’t call for paramedics, we had professionals with us ourselves, we didn’t demand to clear the blockade and be arrested, we demanded to perceive the injustice and cancel the debts of the countries hardest hit by the climate crisis so that they can escape the post-colonial stranglehold and start solving their problems themselves.
Climate activism is not a crime!
Help us to pay the costs in solidarity so that we can continue to work towards solving global problems! Thank you!
Blockade of the oil refinery Cressier 
Beacon ready to be set up 
Clearing with large vehicles 
Blockade from above
Solidarity against their repression
Young people between 16 and 27 years old were involved in the blockade. Most of them are pupils or students with little or no income. The fact that the costs of the eviction are now being passed on to the activists, regardless of their financial possibilities, has one function in particular: to deter people from carrying out more such actions and thus disrupting a normality that kills every day.
Violence and imprisonment against people peacefully demonstrating against the new EACOP pipeline in Uganda, completely exaggerated house searches against activists of the «Last Generation» in Germany, the ban of the movement «Soulèvements de la Terre» by the French government or the sentencing of two activists of «Just Stop Oil» to 3 years in prison in Great Britain: Everywhere activists are increasingly criminalised. Instead of taking action against the climate crisis, attempts are being made to stop activists through repression.
But we will not be stopped! Together, in solidarity, we can stand up to repression. And for this we need your help: donate some money - whether 1 franc or 100 - and do your part to help the climate justice movement remain resilient.
Eviction in the air 
Oil refinery Cressier
Help us pay the bills
After the blockade of the refinery we received invoices for evacuation costs, ambulance and paramedics amounting to more than 10,000. The costs of the fire brigade alone for the evacuation amount to 8167.50. Paramedics on site were charged at 1216.65, two ambulances at 712.50.
Our bamboo structures, barrels and other materials were destroyed during the eviction or destroyed afterwards by the authorities. In addition, we have to pay legal costs and bear the criminal consequences.
We can finance part of these costs ourselves and with donations we have already received. For the rest, we as pupils and students, are dependent on your support.
Fossil fuel companies like the refinery in Cressier have been making enormous profits for decades, destroying the environment, depriving the local population of their livelihoods and fuelling the climate catastrophe. People who peacefully resist and draw attention to these injustices are arrested, convicted and have to pay high costs.
We need your solidarity and financial support!
