London police on Monday said they had detained all 10 Greenpeace activists who had blocked the entrances to BP’s global headquarters to convince the British energy giant to halt oil and gas exploration.
The environmental organization encased activists in five heavy containers that were maneuvered into place at 3am.
Abseilers also set about installing a banner spelling out “climate emergency” on the building’s windows.
Photo: AP
The protest came ahead of BP’s annual general meeting in Aberdeen, Scotland, yesterday where it was to face two shareholder resolutions related to climate change.
Management has supported one of the proposals, and said it would begin issuing specific reports on how BP’s investments are aligned with the Paris climate accord.
Greenpeace wants BP to switch to purely renewable energy or close its operations.
“BP is fueling a climate emergency that threatens millions of lives and the future of the living world,” container occupant Paul Morozzo said. “We must stop searching for new oil and gas if we want a liveable planet. BP must clean up or clear out.”
Six abseilers could be seen on the outside of the building in plush St James’ Square on Monday afternoon, while a couple of activists sat on top of two containers outside the main doors.
The containers were decorated with a brick effect covering and images from photographer Gideon Mendel’s Drowning World project.
The boxes, with two activists in each, had food, drink, toilets, lights, books and games inside. Greenpeace said its volunteers had enough food and water to last a week.
“We welcome discussion, debate, even peaceful protest on the important matter of how we must all work together to address the climate challenge,” a BP spokeswoman told reporters. “But impeding safe entry and exit from an office building in this way is dangerous and clearly a matter for the police to resolve as swiftly as possible.”
London’s Metropolitan Police, who initially made four arrests, said all 10 protesters had been detained by late Monday.
“There isn’t a future in oil. The company has two choices: to go 100 percent renewable or to start winding down the business. All the oil companies need to go in this direction,” Greenpeace campaigner Morten Thaysen said at the police cordon. “We don’t have the luxury to wait around for them to make these decisions by themselves. The transition needs to start now.”
About 40 activists from the Sierra Club, Extinction Rebellion and Stand.Earth on Monday descended on BP’s US headquarters in Denver, Colorado, demanding a meeting to discuss their concerns about oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
IN PURSUIT: Israel’s defense minister said the revenge attacks by Israeli settlers would make it difficult for security forces to find those responsible for the 14-year-old’s death Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned the “heinous murder” of an Israeli teenager in the occupied West Bank as attacks on Palestinian villages intensified following news of his death. After Benjamin Achimeir, 14, was reported missing near Ramallah on Friday, hundreds of Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces raided nearby Palestinian villages, torching vehicles and homes, leaving at least one villager dead and dozens wounded. The attacks escalated in several villages on Saturday after Achimeir’s body was found near the Malachi Hashalom outpost. Agence France-Presse correspondents saw smoke rising from burned houses and fields. Mayor Amin Abu Alyah, of the