Children and grandmothers were among those who blockaded entrances to the petroleum conference in New Plymouth.
The people protesting were from a coalition of groups such as Greenpeace and Climate Justice Taranaki, and were participating in the People's Climate Rally, a week long event.
It drew people from as far away as Australia, and focused on a range of environmental issues.
"Fossil fuels are finite resources to begin with, but not only that, the excavation of them destroys our natural environment and the burning of them and the usage also destroys our natural environment," says Tom Carlyle, a protester from Auckland.
Conference organisers didn't respond to our request for comment - Local Focus was removed by Police when we went inside the venue.
Fifteen-year-old Phoenix White was there to protest water quality, saying that if we don't to something, her whanau won't be able to gather food before long.
"Won't be able to swim, do fishing, eeling," she says.
While people were there for many environmental reasons, they all maintained that money hungry corporations were to blame for the demise of the environment.
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