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Greenpeace
to Statoil: Hands Off the Barents Sea!
Greenpeace opened up a second front today in its campaign
to keep the oil industry out of the Arctic Ocean. Greenpeace's
Nordic office warned Norwegian government-owned Statoil to
discontinue its plans to develop oil and gas projects in the
Barents Sea north of Norway.
 Kristiansund,
6 March 2000 - Whereas the debate rages on in Norway about
the building of new - unnecessary - gas power plants, Greenpeace
now calls attention to the opening of the Barents Sea for
oil and gas production which represents a far greater threat
to the global climate. The new campaign to keep Statoil out
of the Barents Sea was presented in connection with a trial
now taking place in Kristiansund, Norway (1).
Oil exploration in the Barents Sea is completely unacceptable.
In addition to the threat that this project poses to climate
change, there are significant direct threats to the sensitive
environment of the Barents Sea, says Truls Gulowsen, climate
campaigner at Greenpeace.
The state-owned Statoil company plans to spend some four
billion Norwegian kroner this year on oil and gas exploration
but nothing on renewables. Greenpeace fears that once the
Norwegians begin to exploit this area, the Russians will not
be far behind. Greenpeace therefore hopes to stop the opening
of the Barents Sea for massive oil and gas production before
it is too late.
Statoil should recognize its global climate responsibility
and put its money where its mouth is. The world does not need
more fossil fuels, it needs clean energy from sources like
sun, wind and wave, says Truls Gulowsen.
Greenpeace has calculated, based on the IPCC figures, that
the oil and coal industry has already found four times more
fossil fuels (oil, coal and gas) than we can afford to burn,
if we are to avoid dangerous climate change. This is why Greenpeace
is fighting oil exploration in new areas in Alaska, the Atlantic
Frontier and in the Barents Sea.
Additional information
* Truls Gulowsen, Greenpeace Nordic climate campaigner, tel.
+ 47
2220 6206, mobile +47 9010 7904
* Dan Hindsgaul, Greenpeace Nordic press desk, tel. +45 3393
8660,
mobile +45 2810 9021
* www.greenpeace.no ; www.greenpeace.org/arctic ; www.sanebp.com
Note
1) In August 1998, Greenpeace conducted peaceful protests
in the North Sea against Statoil's oil exploration. This non-violent
demonstration led to the arrest of seven Greenpeace protesters
and the seizure of six inflatable boats and a survival capsule,
worth in total nearly two million Norwegian kroner. The court
in Kristiansund must now decide whether the police may permanently
confiscate this equipment. Greenpeace demands that the equipment
be returned to it. Greenpeace bases its demand on the fact
that the property was seized in breach of rules of international
law and that a confiscation of this amount is totally disproportionate
to the minor offence with which the Greenpeace demonstrators
have been charged.
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