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
‘OBVIOUS DIFFERENCE’: The Wuhan Institute of Virology has been researching bat coronaviruses to trace the SARS pathogen, which is 80 percent similar to SARS-CoV-2 The Chinese virology institute in the city where COVID-19 first emerged has three live strains of bat coronavirus on-site, but none match the new contagion wreaking havoc around the world, its director has said. Scientists think COVID-19 — which first emerged in Wuhan and has killed more than 340,000 people worldwide — originated in bats and could have been transmitted to people via another mammal. However, the director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology told state broadcaster China Global Television Network that claims made by US President Donald Trump and others that the novel coronavirus could have escaped from the facility were
SPACE RACE: The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp mission aims to land a robotic rover and put a probe into orbit around the planet China is targeting a July launch for its ambitious Mars mission, which includes landing a remote-controlled robot on the surface of the Red Planet, the company in charge of the project has said. Beijing has invested billions of dollars in its space program in an effort to catch up with its rival, the US, and affirm its status as a major world power. The Mars mission is among a number of new space projects China is pursuing, including putting Chinese astronauts on the moon and having a space station by 2022. Beijing had been planning the Mars mission for some time this year,
India has moved additional troops along its northern border as it prepares for an extended conflict with China, after several rounds of talks failed to ease tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals. China has already placed about 5,000 soldiers and armored vehicles within its side of the disputed border in the Ladakh region, an Indian government official said, asking not to be identified, citing rules. India is adding a similar number of troops as well as artillery guns along the border to fend off the continuing incursions by the Chinese army, the official said. The standoff began on May 5, when troops clashed
China is poised to enshrine individuals’ rights to privacy and personal data for the first time, a symbolic first step as more of the country of 1.4 billion people becomes digitized — and more vulnerable to leaks and hacks. The legislation is part of China’s first civil code, a sweeping package of laws that is being deliberated during the annual meeting of China’s National People’s Congress, which began on Friday after a delay of more than two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a recent draft, an individual has a right to privacy and to have their personal information protected. Data
RSS