Environmental activists in four nations are obstructing entry to North Sea oil facilities in a united effort to protest against European civil disobedience.
Protests against the ongoing extraction of fossil fuels in the North Sea have been occurring at oil and gas terminals, refineries, and ports in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.
In Denmark, additional measures were anticipated, while in Scotland, activists used banners to condemn the continued use of North Sea oil and gas resources for profit.
During the same week, a report discovered that none of the major countries in the region that are responsible for producing fossil fuels have intentions to cease drilling in a timely manner in order to reach the global goal of limiting the Earth’s temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) as outlined by the Paris climate agreement.
According to Extinction Rebellion, there are numerous instances of civil disobedience taking place around the North Sea as part of the North Sea Fossil Free campaign.
The leadership of these six nations is allowing the construction of new fossil fuel extraction facilities, causing harm to not only the North Sea ecosystem but also committing the entire world to hazardous levels of climate change.
“Today, activists have joined forces to organize a series of actions throughout the day, calling for all North Sea oil-producing countries to align their drilling plans with the Paris Agreement immediately.”
A group of demonstrators in Norway obstructed the entrance to Rafnes, a petroleum refinery on the southeast coast of the country. Despite harsh snowy weather, others also prevented tankers from accessing the facility.
Jonas Kittelsen, a representative for Extinction Rebellion Norway, expressed embarrassment as a citizen of Norway. He stated that Norway greatly benefits from the aggressive growth of its oil and gas industry, leading to widespread suffering and fatalities worldwide. He also pointed out that the government falsely portrays Norway as superior to other countries, which is not the case.
Protest movements known as Extinction Rebellion and Scientist Rebellion staged demonstrations by obstructing the primary routes to the Pernis refinery in the Netherlands. This refinery, which is owned by Shell, is the biggest in Europe and has plans to ramp up its oil and gas production in the North Sea.
Spokesperson for XR Netherlands, Bram Kroezen, stated that the fossil fuel industry and our governments are trying to convince people that gas from the North Sea is environmentally friendly, but this idea is false.
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In Germany, members of the climate protest group Ende Gelände wore white overalls to obstruct entry to the Brunsbüttel liquefied natural gas terminal, while in Sweden, XR activists were preventing access to the oil harbor in Gothenburg.
Scottish XR groups recently organized banner drops at specific locations that hold significance in plans for increasing oil and gas production. Over the past year, the UK government has granted numerous licenses for oil and gas exploration along the north-east coast of Scotland.
The findings of a report from Oil Change International this week revealed that the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Denmark have not aligned their oil and gas policies with their commitments to address climate change according to the Paris agreement.
According to the report, Norway and UK’s policies deviate the most from the Paris climate agreement due to their “aggressive” pursuit of new oil and gas fields through exploration and licensing.
Source: theguardian.com
