Greenpeace UK blogs

Help Stop Climate Chaos to recharge the media

jossc — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:31:49 +0000

Do you feel the media sometimes misses the point? Wish it was getting the urgency of climate change?

As you may know, Greenpeace is a member of Stop Climate Chaos (SCC), the umbrella group of organisations working together to limit the worst effects of climate change. If, like us, you think the media could use some 'recharging' on the climate debate, join in to create a big debate in the media this December. Get the letters pages, opinion columns and airwaves buzzing with your views on climate change and the UK's energy choices.

Get your voice heard. Inspire others. Help shape the public agenda.

Tell the media you care what this country is doing to tackle climate change at home. Call on our politicians to kick start the carbon clean up at home and show leadership on the world stage at this week's United Nations Climate Change Conference at Poznan in Poland.

Speak up. Register NOW for the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition media action alerts from 1 – 7 December on www.rechargethemedia.org.

We’ll tell you how climate change is being covered in the media throughout the week and where you can influence the debate in newspapers, online, on the radio and in your local news.

How does it work?

Sign up here to Recharge the Media. Every day from 1-7 December, we’ll alert you to opportunities in the regional and national media to speak out on climate change and energy. You then take as many or as few actions as you want.

Right now for example, the government has a critical decision to make: to boost our renewable energy supply, or continue to rely on dirty coal power. The message for the media during Recharge Week will be that the prime minister must make energy from the sun, wind and waves his number one choice from now on.

At the end of the week, that will be it for this Stop Climate Chaos Coalition action – you won’t receive any more alerts BUT you’ll have helped create a climate buzz and hopefully be energised to keep 'recharging' the public debate wherever you can.

Actions not words needed at Poznan

jossc — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:54:04 +0000

EU leaders - 20 years of broken promises...

On 11 December at Poznan in Poland, our governments will decide Europe's response to climate change for the next 12 years. Unless they agree to at least 30 per cent cuts in European greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, we'll have no chance of keeping global warming below 2°C and avoiding climate catastrophe.

So far there is still an utter lack of any kind of visionary leadership in these talks. There are still governments that repeatedly fail to grasp the urgency of the crisis. That's why we need to make ourselves heard, because the impacts of climate change are racing ahead of the scientific projections.

Will we look into the eyes of our children and confess: That we had the opportunity, but lacked the courage? That we had the technology, but lacked the vision?

What needs to be done is clear: to avoid the overwhelming costs of runaway climate change, the world needs to quit its addiction to coal and stop destroying forests – or we will be engulfed by a tidal wave of global warming. That work has to start right here, right now.

Today Greenpeace is launching a video which puts pressure on EU decision-makers. It runs through 20 years of political speeches and broken promises in the fight for the environment and especially the problem of climate change: François Mitterand, Helmut Kohl, Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel, John Major and Silvio Berlosconi are all there - willingly addressing climate change in their speeches, but unfortunately not in their actions...

That's because they are far more influenced by business leaders than by ordinary people. We need to make sure that it's us our leaders are listening to - not industry.

What you can do

Challenge Europe's decision-makers to take the lead!
Take two minutes to tell them to keep global warming below 2°C

Join activists from around the world by uploading your photo to be projected at this year's UN meeting on Climate Change. Let the government leaders know that the World is Watching what happens at this year's meeting.

Tune in to our climate blog for regular updates from Poznan.

The true cost of coal and the men making you pay it

jossc — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 14:31:12 +0000

If we're to avert catastrophic climate change the world must quit coal. But the industry and the powerful forces which rely on it won't go down without a fight. Yesterday, in Warsaw, Greenpeace provided them with two reminders of why we all need to quit coal.

Our activists dumped coal on the doorstep of a luxury Warsaw hotel, where industry ministers from 20 countries are meeting to discuss coal's future, unveiling a banner saying 'Get serious, quit coal!' We also published a report on the "True Cost of Coal" estimating the annual financial costs of coal's climate impacts, health impacts and the cost of deadly mining accidents.

Hosted by the Polish government, the conference documents claim that the meeting is being held to agree on policies to help the climate - but the agenda reveals it is about saving profits, not the planet.

It's official: BAA will say anything to get a 3rd runway approved at Heathrow

jossc — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:02:11 +0000

Boy are BAA keen on a third runway for Heathrow. Their enthusiasm knows no bounds, and there appear to be no lengths they won't go to to get their own way - purely for the good of the country, of course (even though they are Spanish owned) - no shabby profit motives involved.

So far in order to see their dream come true they have:

colluded with the government (through a joint body - the Heathrow Delivery Group) to steer their plans through the consultation process
supplied their own data for calculations of noise and pollution that inform the proposal, and prevented opposition groups gaining access it it to carry out their own analyses
written parts of the consultation themselves
drawn up a 'risk' list with the Department of Transport to counter opponents of the proposal (including the 2M campaign, the group comprising local councils representing 2 million people who'll be affected by the new runway)
taken out an injunction against Airportwatch, the umbrella organisation who's members include such radical groups as the National Trust, the RSPB, the Woodland Trust and the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, as well as ourselves.

And these are just a sample of their tactics (you can read the full details here) - in fact their whole attitude from day one has been to use their corporate clout to spread secrecy and disrupt legitimate protest about the impact of their expansion plans.

So I had to stifle a chuckle this morning when I tuned in to Radio 4's Today programme to hear BAA's Chief Exec Colin Matthews guaranteeing to give an independent regulator the power to limit flights in and out of Heathrow for environmental reasons - provided that a third runway is approved.

Mr Matthews did his best to sound convincing as he promised that his company would "welcome being held to strict noise and pollution controls" - once the 3rd runway was in operation. "We have listened to the many arguments around expansion at Heathrow. Although the economic case remains compelling, we understand that we can only increase the number of flights if we can safeguard levels of noise and air quality."

"The history of Heathrow is littered with broken promises. Once extra capacity has been agreed, it is used to the full. No-one will believe claims by either BAA or the Government that flights will be cut in the future in the light of environmental concerns."
Edward Lister, Wandsworth Council & 2M Group

Hmm - would those be the same levels of noise and air quality that BAA have been happy to fiddle so consistently in their desperate quest to get the runway approved, by any chance? They surely would. So the question has to be asked, would they be making the same offer if they weren't absolutely certain that they can rely on any "government-appointed assessor" to happily accept whatever figures BAA decides to give them?

Well, those that have been following the story closely have their doubts. Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Norman Baker's reaction? "This is a worthless promise, as BAA has to stick to EU emissions limits anyway. It is clearly an attempt to get the new runway in place and then to come back demanding more flights at a later date. The last 15 years have been littered with promises of no more expansion, followed by demands for exactly that."

And shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers agreed; "BAA are right to admit that they have lost the trust of Parliamentarians and local communities over the third runway. However today's letter is just the next in a long line of promises which may have been sincere at the time, that were subsequently cast aside by the company. We have seen this all before. What BAA needs to realise is that people do not want a third runway, we do not need a third runway, and under a Conservative government there will not be a third runway."

As Greenpeace director John Sauven pointed out, "If BAA builds a third runway at Heathrow there is simply no way the airport will avoid breaking pollution limits. That's a fact. Nitrogen dioxide levels at Heathrow are already bumping up against the limits. On top of this, a new runway would wipe out any chance we have of meeting our climate change targets. Two independent watchdogs - the Environment Agency and the Sustainable Development Commission - have already said no to a third runway for just these reasons."

The difficulty of BAA's position wasn't lost on Today's presenter Evan Davies who, after pointing out that in the past the airports operator had also promised never to build a fifth terminal at Heathrow or a 3rd runway only to go back on its word a few years later, suggested that one way of regaining public trust would be to post a £5 billion bond, payable to Greenpeace, if BAA were ever found to be in breach of environmental regulations once a third runway had been built.

Not surprisingly, though I must admit disappointingly for us (given the help it would be in the battle against climate change), Mr Matthews declined.

A tale of two fishies

jossc — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:07:37 +0000

Imagine you were in a car that was rolling quickly towards the edge of a cliff. The sensible thing to do would be to slam on the brakes as much as possible, knowing that it will take some time to stop, even with your best efforts and your foot to the floor. Another option would be just to take your feet off the pedals and hope it slows down in time. If it was an EU fisheries regulator who found themselves at the wheel, though, chances are they'd consult widely to ensure that they had the best advice possible on how to get out of the situation, and then totally ignore it...

All the available data shows that many fisheries around the world are in serious decline. Some face complete collapse (hence the 'falling off a cliff' analogy) unless drastic action is taken to end over-fishing and give threatened stocks time to recover. This can only happen by setting aside large areas of ocean as marine reserves, off-limits to all forms of fishing. But sadly the fishing industry itself still seems incapable of taking any meaningful steps to address the problem.

Over the past week we've seen more evidence of this; two bodies charged with regulating the industry in their respective neigbourhoods have been meeting to decide the fate of Mediterranean bluefin tuna and North Sea cod. And you'll be unsurprised to learn that each has ignored expert scientific advice to allow over-fishing to continue.

ICCAT has missed its last chance to save the bluefin tuna from stock collapse,
Sebastian Losada, Greenpeace

Bluefin stocks in the Med have sunk to such low levels that earlier in the year both Spain and Japan called for a suspension of the fishery. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)'s own scientists proposed cutting next year's TAC (Total Allowable Catch) down by 60 per cent top 15,000 tonnes, and closing the fishery completely in the spawning months of May and June. Greenpeace has also been calling for a moratorium in the fishery until the issues of overcapacity (too many boats) and illegal fishing (last year it’s understood that the amount of bluefin fished in reality was DOUBLE the legal quota) are addressed, calling for all known tuna spawning grounds to be protected as marine reserves, and for fishing quotas to be set in accordance with scientific advice. Yet, after much talk, ICCAT members rejected the closure idea and set an unstustainable 22,000 tonne target.

ICCAT's craven refusal to accept its own scientists' advice makes it likely that the next battles to save the tuna will be at meetings of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites). Incredibly – Atlantic bluefin has been listed as an endangered species on the IUCN redlist for over 12 years. Can you imagine the outcry if this was happening to a more cuddly threatened species on land? It’s little wonder that the acronym ICCAT is known to many as the 'International Conspiracy to Catch All the Tuna'!

Meanwhile a new 'recovery plan' for cod in EU waters was also under discussion. It was agreed that the current situation, where cod is caught in a mixed fishery (alongside haddock and whiting) but quotas are set by species level, is in no one’s interest. Fishermen's complaints that this leads to them having to discard perfectly marketable cod appeared to have been heeded in the new agreement, which calls for a 25 per cent reduction in cod mortality. This would be achieved by adopting management measures like more selective nets, and closing areas to fishing where cod are known to be plentiful, or where there are an abundance of young cod. Obviously we welcome more selective measures in fisheries, and Greenpeace is particularly pleased to know that the fishing industry and government accept the important role of no-take areas in helping commercially important species like cod to recover and thrive.

"Ministers' disregard for advice puts them in the role of doctors assisting the suicide of a patient; because with this decision-making record, stock collapse becomes a certainty"

Prof Callum Roberts

So far, so promising. But then comes the kicker - in order for fishermen to continue making profits while these measures are in operation, they're demanding increased quotas of both cod and other species. As Professor Callum Roberts has shown, cod were once 30-50 times more plentiful in the North Sea than they are today, and last year's slight rise in stocks still leaves them at between a quarter and a third of the number needed for a healthy sustainable population - so any increase in quota would be disastrous. Yet once again that's what is likely to happen - over the last 20 years EU ministers have exceeded safe catch recommendations by an average of 15-30 per cent year-on year, (depending on the species), largely for political reasons. This year's December fisheries Council meeting will be the same old story – with ministers 'respecting the science' by ignoring the science. They do it to protect their own fishing industries, not realising that in reality, disregarding the science is condemning their industry to a slow death.

Time will tell if the brakes have been applied early enough, and strongly enough, for North Sea cod and Atlantic bluefin.

Darling loses sight of low-carbon, smart technology future

jossc — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:00:15 +0000

Yesterday's pre-budget report presented a great chance to Alastair Darling to fire the starting gun on a clean energy revolution, given that the combination of impending economic meltdown and climactic chaos facing us provide an historic opportunity to invest billions in a low-carbon, smart technology future.

But rather than take that opportunity - by encouraging the development of a new UK manufacturing base capable of exporting renewables and energy efficient technologies to the world, and creating hundreds of thousands of green collar jobs in the process, the Chancellor blew it.

Instead, he focused on traditional tax-cutting measures to keep the old economy afloat, offering VAT reductions across the board instead of directing them towards low-carbon technologies and energy efficient products. He has yet to grasp that, in the words of Greenpeace director John Sauven "green taxes aren't higher taxes or lower taxes, they’re smarter taxes and can help make our economy more energy efficient."

More evidence that the penny has yet to drop came with his proposal to protect the aviation industry by scrapping proposed changes to Air Passenger Duty. He could have chosen to tax flights instead of people, which would have encouraged the industry to fill their planes instead of flying half-empty jet liners around the world. But once again it looks as though the aviation industry will be given a free pass at a time when its contribution to climate change is rising.

And, apart from an announcement of some new money for loft insulation, there was little indication that energy efficiency was high on his agenda. Energy efficiency solutions - for lighting, insulation, appliances - are relatively low-tech but absolutely central to reducing emissions, and they are an area which could certainly benefit from smart taxation and fiscal policies. Neither was there anything about the "super grid" which will be needed to replace our existing antiquated system if we are to successfully link up diverse renewable sources of energy and reduce emissions.

Of course, all is not yet lost. The pre-budget report is simply the Chancellor’s chance to explain in advance the measures he’s likely to be taking in next springs full budget, and to update his economic forecasts. So it's more an indication of his thinking rather than something absolutely set in stone. Let's hope that by the time he comes to formulate the budget itself, he will have grasped the potential of smart-tech climate solutions to get us out of this recession and make us economically competitive for the coming century, and begin directing money and financial incentives towards the genuine solutions to the problems which we face.

Peaceful protesters attacked by miners in Poland

jossc — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:06:18 +0000

Peaceful protesters from the our Climate Rescue Station were attacked by mine workers today as they entered the vast Jóźwin IIB open pit mine near Konin in Poland. As they prepared to paint a huge "Stop" sign next to a giant excavator, the activists were assaulted and prevented from carrying out their peaceful protest. A journalist accompanying them was also beaten.

Climate and Energy Campaigner Magdalena Zowsik explained why they were there: "Our action is not against the miners but it is addressed to the Polish government. We demand that the forthcoming Polish energy policy contain a concrete plan for quitting coal and implementing renewable energy and energy efficiency. We also object to opening any new coal power plants."

The Greenpeace Climate Rescue Station was set up two weeks ago at the edge of the mine to bear witness to the destruction and environmental devastation caused by coal ahead of the international climate talks due to start in Poznan next month. Just last week 400 members of local communities whose homes and livelihoods are threatened by the mine joined us in a peaceful protest.

World’s biggest solar tower plant will power 11,000 homes in Spain

edurnix — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:13:43 +0000

Spain has the sunshine and now appears to have the will to use its potential to generate clean energy.

Rising out of the Andalusian countryside like a gigantic obelisk, a huge concrete solar tower is surrounded by fields of more than 1,000 mirrors that are carefully positioned to reflect sunlight in order to superheat water in the tower.

This is known as concentrated solar power technology and is seen as a cheaper and more efficient way to harness the sun’s energy, but it will only work in areas with strong sunshine and clear skies. And just 20 kilometres from the city of Seville, the countryside in southern Spain is an ideal location.

When the plant opens in January it will generate enough electricity to power 11,000 Spanish homes. It will be the biggest world’s biggest concentrated solar power plant, and brings a beam of optimism for what it may mean for the quest of alternative energies and the use of tower technology to make the most of solar energy.

Spain’s plans are on track with EU plans to source 20 per cent of primary energy from renewables by 2020 and this plant opening could be just the start of a booming industry in concentrated solar power for Spain. It is a perfect example of the kinds of new technologies and industries our own government could be investing in to create jobs and green our economy.

Greener Electronics – major companies fail to show climate leadership

jossc — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:50:23 +0000

The latest edition of our Guide to Greener Electronics has revealed that very few firms are showing true climate leadership. Despite many green claims, major companies like Dell, Microsoft, Lenovo, LG, Samsung and Apple are failing to support the necessary levels of global cuts in emissions and make the absolute cuts in their own emissions that are required to tackle climate change.

Protect the Congo's forests says Greenpeace DRC

jossc — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:28:31 +0000

Arctic Sunrise arriving at the DRC port of Matadi

Today we're celebrating the opening of a new Greenpeace office in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Hurrah! We marked the occasion by inviting Congolese officials aboard the Arctic Sunrise, which is currently docked in Matadi, the country's principal port for timber exports.

This is a crucial time for the Congo rainforest, the world's second largest, as the DRC's government is the final stages of reviewing over 150 land titles, which cover millions of hectares of forest. While a number of titles were recently rejected by the government, the current 'appeals process' could see many of them returned to their former owners, the logging companies. The logging industry is using the present economic downturn to pressurise the govrnment to allow them to keep hold of (and exploit) what effectively amounts to millions of hectares of forest, and carry on business as usual.

As Greenpeace Africa policy advisor René Ngongo says, "the Congolese government must not give into pressure from the logging industry, which is currently doing all it can to highjack the legality process. Clearly what the industry wants is to keep control of some 10 million additional hectares of illegally acquired forest... those who exploit the forests are expecting the legality review to approve the greatest number of logging concessions possible."

With over 60 per cent of the DRC's population directly or indirectly dependent on the country's forests for subsistence, it's critical that the government protects them.

The next UN climate talks, due to take place in Posnan, Poland from December 1 – 12 could play a vital role in this. One of the meeting's principal goals will be to discuss ways to create a mechanism to finance the fight against greenhouse gas emissions caused by the deforestation and degradation of tropical forests. At that meeting we will be promoting our 'Forests for Climate' financing mechanism, which is designed to generate substantial sums of money to protect rainforests while also protecting the rights of their populations, protecting biodiversity and fighting climate change.

Links for 2008-11-19 [del.icio.us]

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Ian McEwan on what Obama's election means for the environment ...
After years of living in fear of climate change, we are fast acquiring the weapons to defeat it. But the only one who can unite humanity for this life-or-death struggle is Barack Obama - and he must act now.

Links for 2008-11-18 [del.icio.us]

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Ministers warned that legal challenges could delay plans for nuclear power stations

Links for 2008-11-17 [del.icio.us]

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

All aboard the green revolution
Storage fears over high-level nuclear waste
Government plans for a new generation of nuclear power plants face growing concerns the industry needs another waste repository involving a massive escalation in cost.

Links for 2008-11-11 [del.icio.us]

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Windfarm consortium to invest billions off UK coast
Two of the world's leading wind farm operators have teamed up to make joint bids for the next round of offshore licences in Britain.
Greenpeace's month in pictures - October
Video: how can you sleep?
Mystery of lost US nuclear bomb
The methane time bomb

Links for 2008-11-06 [del.icio.us]

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Rainbow Warrior: through the porthole
MSN on the Rainbow Warrior

Links for 2008-11-04 [del.icio.us]

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Time to bury the 'clean coal' myth
In the second of his Greenwash columns, Fred Pearce exposes how energy companies and governments are trying to rebrand coal as a clean fuel of the future despite the evidence
Obama's green jobs revolution
Democrat will lead effort to curb world's dependence on oil; Plans to create five million new posts in clean energy projects
U.S. court reinstates Bhopal water pollution case
A lawsuit contending that thousands of people in India were exposed to polluted drinking water after the 1984 Union Carbide toxic-gas disaster in Bhopal was reinstated on Monday by a U.S. appeals court, which said a lower court improperly threw out the case.

Links for 2008-10-17 [del.icio.us]

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500

In echo of Kingsnorth Six, US climate change activists go on trial over blockade of $1.8bn coal-fired power plant
Drinking water contaminated around Brazil’s Caetité uranium mine
Research conducted by Greenpeace has found high levels of uranium in drinking water in the area around the Caetité uranium mine in Brazil.