Climate activists in over four countries have reportedly blocked access to North Sea oil infrastructure as part of a coordinated pan-European civil disobedience protest.
According to available reports, blockades have been taking place at oil and gas terminals, refineries and ports in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, in protest at the continued exploitation of North Sea fossil fuel deposits.
Further actions were expected in Denmark, while in Scotland activists staged banner drops calling for an end to the exploitation of North Sea oil and gas. The protest comes in the same week a report found none of the big fossil fuel producing countries in the region had plans to stop drilling soon enough to meet the 1.5C (2.7F) global heating target set by the Paris climate accords.
“Under the campaign North Sea Fossil Free acts of civil disobedience are happening all around the North Sea,” Extinction Rebellion was quoted as saying. “The governments of these six countries are permitting new fossil extraction infrastructure, harming not only the North Sea ecosystem, but also committing the whole world to dangerous levels of warming,”.
Read also: Scientists divide over cause of record heat
“Activists have come together today in a series of actions – unfolding across the day – to demand all North Sea oil countries align their drilling plans with the Paris agreement now.”
In Norway, dozens of activists blocked the road entrance to the petroleum refinery in Rafnes, on the country’s south-east coast. Others were braving snowy conditions to block tankers from docking at the facility.
Jonas Kittelsen, who is a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion Norway, was quoted as saying, “I’m ashamed to be a Norwegian. Norway profits massively from aggressively expanding our oil and gas sector, causing mass suffering and death globally. My government portrays us as better than the rest of the world, which we are not.”
In the Netherlands, Extinction Rebellion and Scientist Rebellion were blocking the main access roads to Pernis refinery, the largest refinery in Europe, owned by Shell, which plans to increase and expand its North Sea oil and gas production.
Bram Kroezen, a spokesperson for XR Netherlands, said: “The fossil industry and our governments want us to believe that gas from the North Sea is clean, but clean gas is a dirty lie.”
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
