At 5.30am this morning, fifty-two Greenpeace volunteers and five 'rogue' tigers shut down Esso's fuel distribution centre at Purfleet, Essex. The volunteers shut down the plant to put pressure on Esso to protect the planet. Esso is the world's number one global warming villain and is behind George Bush's refusal to sign up the US to the Kyoto climate treaty. Purfleet supplies Esso fuels to the South East from Hastings to the Wash.
A team of Greenpeace volunteers blocked Esso tankers at the entrance and exit to the fuel depot with two large customised shipping containers bolted to the road. Two volunteers are chained inside each container, which are covered with posters of George Bush and Esso. A second team of volunteers and tigers has shut down the fuel supply to the petrol tankers before occupying various parts of the site.
Greenpeace climate campaigner Rob Gueterbock said,
"Esso, the richest company in the world, is using all its power and might to make sure the planet fries while it keeps making money. Because of Esso, Bush has stuck two fingers up to the world and is refusing to abide by the Kyoto global warming treaty. Bush does what Esso tells him. To get the US, the world's biggest polluter to sign up to Kyoto, we have to stop Esso."
Greenpeace today released a new report Esso - a decade of dirty tricks detailing the history of Esso's attempts to use its power and money to stop international action on global warming. Esso (ExxonMobil in the US) is the world's biggest corporation, making record profits of over $17 billion last year. Last year, the company spent $7.9 billion on oil exploration and nothing on renewable energy or green fuels.
Esso has failed to kill off the Kyoto treaty. On Monday 23rd July in Bonn the international community finally took the long overdue step of agreeing the rules for implementing the Kyoto Protocol without Bush. Thanks to Esso's lobbying efforts the US, which is responsible for 25% of global warming gas emissions, is still refusing to come on board.
Around the world there is a growing campaign to boycott Esso's products until it stops trying to derail action on global warming. In the UK the Stop Esso campaign (founded by Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and People & Planet) has received widespread support from several politicians and celebrities including Bianca Jagger, Annie Lennox, and Rory Bremner. One significant supporter has been the President of the Kyoto climate negotiations and former Dutch prime minister Jan Pronk, who stated on Dutch television that he personally supports a boycott against Esso. Recently The Body Shop became the first business to boycott Esso and is promoting the campaign in its stores nation-wide.
Gueterbock added,
"Esso and Bush are standing arrogantly apart from the rest of the world. They are the planet's number one global warming villains. To stop Bush we have to stop Esso. If people want to help change Esso they can choose not to buy its fuel. Everyone should refuse to put a 'tiger in their tank"
The Purfleet plant distributes around 15% of Esso's fuels in the UK and is the re-fuelling point for 250 tankers a day. Greenpeace has notified essential services that the Purfleet plant is closed and there are alternative supplies nearby.
Notes to editors:
Esso - a decade of dirty tricks (PDF 211k) is available from the Greenpeace Press Office.
Read the Greenpeace media briefing Bush and Esso number one global warming villains. (PDF 22k)
Further information:
Please contact:
Greenpeace Press Office on 020 7865 8255
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Join the boycott at the Stop Esso website: www.stopesso.com
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