press releases

At 11am today, five Greenpeace climbers boarded the MV Roxane Delmas to stop wood from Central Africa's threatened "great ape" rainforest coming into the UK. The climbers have attached themselves to the stern door of the ship in the Thames Estuary, north of Sheerness, to prevent it from unloading its cargo at London's Tilbury Docks. 

Greenpeace is demanding that this timber, from the destruction of one of the world's remaining ancient forests, is returned to Cameroon. Investigations by Greenpeace indicate that the timber on board this ship includes sapele, identical to that used in the doors and windows at the Government's Cabinet Office in Whitehall (1). Other rainforest timber from the region is also onboard.

Thousands of people join with Greenpeace to produce giant art installation for Blair telling him to help protect the world's remaining ancient forests

Today, Greenpeace along with a delegation of individuals from the fashion, club, DJ and arts world have taken part in a procession delivering a postcard-petition sculpture to Tony Blair at No 10 Downing Street.

At 8am this morning Greenpeace volunteers entered the Cabinet Office in Whitehall and declared it an ancient forest crime scene - following an investigation which revealed the government was about to install hundreds of new doors and windows made of wood from Africa's last rainforests (1).

Greenpeace today condemned the British Government for failing in its commitment to protect ancient forests as it was revealed that authorities in Germany have impounded a cargo of illegally logged mahogany from the Brazilian Amazon rainforest - almost identical to one the UK government refused to seize earlier this month. Authorities in Belgium have today also committed to action on this issue.

The Brazilian mahogany, imported to Germany by international timber trader DLH, was seized by German authorities upon its arrival in Hamburg docks at the beginning of March. The mahogany has been impounded whilst the Government attempts to clarify with Brazilian Authorities whether or not the mahogany contravenes a mahogany logging and trade ban imposed by the Brazilian government at the end of last year.

Explaining the German government's action the Deputy Minister for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture, Mathias Berninger, said that "This mahogany is from the Rainforest of Brazil and originates presumably from dubious forest management We are holding this mahogany and we will not release it, until it is ensured that it was logged under reasonable circumstances." (1)

A further cargo of mahogany is destined for Belgium and the UK. Today the Belgian Minister for the Environment, Magda Aelvoet stated that "The trade in mahogany from dubious origin is unacceptable. In such circumstances Belgium will detain mahogany as long as there is no absolute clarity about the legal status of the produced mahogany." (2)

Today's visionary declaration by North Sea Ministers to promote renewable energy in the North Sea was clouded by fall out from the on-going argument on radioactive discharges from Sellafield. 

North Sea Ministers including UK Environment Minister Michael Meacher agreed to "welcome the development of renewable energy, inter alia offshore wind energyThey agree to take action to exploit this potential fully and safely." However, Greenpeace warned that this historic commitment would be undermined by the continued support of the UK and France to the polluting nuclear industry.

The North Sea has huge potential to harness wind power and develop renewable energy. Just 1% of the resource could power more than 6 million homes. In contrast to the billions of euros of state support for the nuclear industry, renewables still receive insufficient funding.

Greenpeace political advisor Simon Reddy said,
"The UK and France have to understand that the policies they articulated in Bergen represent a fundamental contradiction. What use is it signing up to clean renewable energy if you simultaneously continue to support a failing industry that is polluting our environment? It's a policy that's about as stable as the ice shelf that's just broken off from Antarctica."

During the 5th North Sea Ministers meeting in Bergen, the UK Environment Minister Michael Meacher stated publicly: "The twentieth century was the century of oil, the twenty-first must be the century of renewable energy."

The conference saw Ministers from nine countries and the EU recognise that climate change brought on by the use of fossil fuels poses a potent threat to the ecosystem and coastal regions of the North Sea. They also acknowledged the need to develop renewable alternatives to fossil fuels like oil and gas.

The commitment by the ministers to take action to exploit the wind potential of the North Sea was welcomed by Greenpeace. However, the agreement will only be worthwhile if it leads to massive financial investment in the offshore wind industry. Greenpeace emphasised that only through a commitment to renewable energy technologies will governments be able to make a substantial and sustainable contribution to their Kyoto Protocol commitments.

The North Sea Ministers Conference this year will focus on a number of key environmental issues including the development and use of renewable energy, radioactive waste transports, radioactive discharges and the release of hazardous substances into the environment. 

Greenpeace will be attending the conference to encourage ministers to commit to action to reverse the ongoing damage to the climate through the use of fossil fuels and to protect the environment and economy of the North Sea area from radioactive and chemical pollution.

Greenpeace publishes the first ever Zero Waste plan for the UK

The UK could be a rubbish-free zone according to a revolutionary new report. 'Zero Waste' by leading waste expert Robin Murray, explains how Britain could maximise recycling levels, change product design to eliminate waste and find innovative new uses for the rubbish we generate. The study also details the government policies and finance needed to make Zero Waste a reality.

Greenpeace response to Chief Scientist claim today that new nuclear power stations are needed to protect the environment