Four campaigners scaled the Bank of England this morning, ahead of the Chancellor’s pre-budget report this afternoon, and are unfurling a banner reading ‘GREEN IS GOOD’.

The Greenpeace climbers are calling for Alistair Darling to kick-start the economy by investing in a new green industrial revolution.

Making such a “clever, clean and courageous” investment will, say Greenpeace, not only boost the UK’s flagging economy, but will also improve the nation’s energy security, create hundreds of thousands of green-collar jobs, make UK industry a leader in cutting-edge low carbon technologies and lead the way in tackling climate change.

To start this recession-busting green revolution Greenpeace is  asking the Government to deliver in four key areas.

- Britain must meet our carbon dioxide reduction targets and our renewable energy targets here at home instead of paying others to do it for us. Delivering on these will ensure that Britain sees the benefits of investment in green technology – otherwise they will be swept up by European competitors and countries like China.

- A Green Investment Bank to finance innovative green industries and large-scale infrastructure should be set up. Unlocking our offshore wind potential should be a key investment for this bank. An energy ‘supergrid’ throughout the North Sea will connect many giant windfarms spread across hundreds of miles and allow us to profit from Britain’s greatest energy resource – the wind.

- Renewable technologies used in Britain should be made in Britain. The pioneers of the emerging tidal and wave industries are British. The Government must provide the right backing for these industries – otherwise we risk losing the fruits of such technologies to overseas competitors.

- Britain must tackle energy efficiency. With regulation and investment, every building in Britain can be insulated to make our homes warmer, greener and cheaper to run.

Greenpeace's executive director, John Sauven, said:

"The government, along with the private sector, must invest in a cleaner, more secure future for the UK – and the time to do that is right now.

"Kick-starting the economy with a green investment – which would be clever, clean and courageous – is backed by Barack Obama, the CBI, the UN, Deutsche Bank and other major corporations. Doing so wouldn’t just help the Government to escape the recession – it would also help us to finally escape our dirty and expensive twentieth century energy system.

"It's not just the UK economy and our energy security that will benefit from an investment in green energy. Hundreds of thousands of green-collar jobs will be created in the UK. We’ll become a world leader in cutting edge low carbon technologies. And we’ll lead the way in tackling climate change and securing the future of our planet."

Speaking recently about green technology, United States' President-elect Barack Obama said: "It is absolutely critical that we understand this is not just a challenge, it's an opportunity… It can be an engine that drives us into the future the same way the computer was the engine for economic growth over the last couple of decades."

In Germany, the renewable energy sector generates more electricity annually than all of the UK's nuclear power stations combined. It also employs 250,000 people and generates an annual revenue of around £150 billion.

In France, energy efficiency and renewable energy companies already employ more people than car manufacturers.

Globally, according to the UN, the renewable energy industry already employs more people than the fossil fuel sector.


Greenpeace press office: 020 7865 8255 or 07717 704577.

A court in Aomori, Japan has ruled that two Greenpeace peaceful protestors who exposed a major scandal around the embezzlement of whale meat from the Japanese government-sponsored Southern Ocean whaling programme will spend the maximum time in custody without charge permissible under Japanese law - 23 days.

Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki were arrested on June 20th after exposing the scandal, despite offering to cooperate with any police investigation and having already submitted, under their own initiative, written statements about the undercover investigation, which revealed large-scale theft of meat from the tax-payer funded so-called scientific whaling programme.

"With this additional custody order, Junichi and Toru are to spend twenty three days in detention without charge, despite having given the police all the information they need. This is much longer than the time spent by the Tokyo District Prosecutor investigating the evidence presented by Greenpeace of an embezzlement ring within the so-called scientific whaling fleet," commented Greenpeace International Executive Director, Gerd Leipold. "The authorities in Japan must, as a matter of urgency, refocus their energy on investigating the crimes covered up by the whaling industry and sectors of the Government, not the method of exposing the evidence."

Since their arrest, nearly 190,000 people have sent letters to the Japanese Government calling for the release of Junichi and Toru and further demanding a full investigation into the whale meat embezzlement scandal. Protests have been held outside Japanese embassies in 33 cities across 29 countries.

In a message to supporters, sent via their lawyers, Junichi and Toru welcomed the support they have had from people all over the world, adding: "We still need your help. We have been ordered to remain in custody for ten more days without charge. Please encourage your friends to send an email to the Japanese government, if they have not already. Keep watching for news from Greenpeace of more actions you can take and make sure that the global demand to investigate the whale meat scandal we exposed is heard loud and clear here in Japan."

Ends.

Notes:
Greenpeace has begun a series of activities at Japanese embassies around the world protesting the detention of Junichi and Toru. Nearly 190,000 people have now written to demand their release.

Download the "Stolen Japanese Whale Meat Scandal" dossier.

For further information contact:
Keiko Shirokawa: Greenpeace Japan Media, in Tokyo: + 81 90 3470 7884
Dave Walsh, Greenpeace International, in Tokyo: +81 80 5877 2587
Mike Townsley, Greenpeace International, in Amsterdam: +31 621 296 918

Reacting to comments by Business Secretary John Hutton, calling for Britain to become a low carbon economy, Greenpeace climate campaigner Joss Garman said: 

"Labour ministers are extremely good at making speeches like this and extremely bad at actually implementing the kind of changes that would see Britain's economy become a super-efficient low carbon model for the world. John Hutton is currently pushing forward plans to build the UK's first coal-fired power station in decades and his very own department is attempting to sabotage vital European renewable energy efforts at every twist and turn."

ENDS 

Greenpeace - 0207 865 8255