19 June 2002, Seville:
More than 80,000 European citizens supported the “Choose Positive Energy” campaign by signing postcards
addressed to government officials.
Today Greenpeace distributed postcards collected in different European
countries asking governments for a commitment in support of renewable
energies and to achieve sustainable development without the dangers of climate
change and nuclear energy.
During an action carried out this morning, Greenpeace volunteers
covered the “Plaza de España” in Seville with thousands of postcards
addressed to the president of the Spanish government and of the EU, José
María Aznar. At the same time another group of Greenpeace activists handed out postcards in
Berlin addressed to the German Prime Minister, Gerhard Schröder.
Just before 10:00 AM, 20 Greenpeace volunteers from Germany, France,
Luxemburg, the United Kingdom and Spain arrived at the “Plaza de España” in Seville,
where the delegation of the Spanish government in Andalusia is situated, and started covering
the square with the postcards, sticking them
on the ground and on a big banner reading “RENEWABLE ENERGIES NOW!”.
Meanwhile, other activists stuck more postcards to hundreds of balloons
reading “CLEAN ENERGY NOW” and displaying the “+” sign of the Choose Positive
Energy campaign. The activists invited passersby to sign more postcards
and to place them in the square.
The postcards were collected in different European countries and are
addressed to the heads of government of the countries that are discussing
the liberalization of the european electricity market: José María Aznar
(Spain), Gerhard Schröder (Germany), Jacques Chirac (France) and Tony Blair
(United Kingdom).
In Spain, the signatures were collected through the Internet and during the
Solar Caravan tour, which started on June 5 and traveled around Madrid, Arganda
del Rey (Madrid), Bilbao, Reus (Tarragona), Murcia, Almería, and Jerez de la
Frontera, finishing on June 21 in Seville. The purpose of the tour was to demonstrate
to public officials how to take advantage of the sun's clean energy.
“The European citizens are choosing positive energy”, said José Luis García
Ortega, Greenpeace Solar Project coordinator in Spain. “Now the
heads of governments must choose: either listen to their citizens and
engage themselves in prioritizing renewable energy in Europe and
developing countries, or follow the dictates of the big companies
involved in the fossil fuel and nuclear energy business.”
The Seville Summit (21-22 June) is the last joint meeting for the European heads of governments
before the next World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.
The Greenpeace campaign “Choose Positive Energy” is looking for a commitment
from the EU in Seville to:
- Ensure that the EU officially commits itself during the Earth Summit
to providing access to sustainable and renewable energy sources for the two
billion people who are without power over the next 10 years.
- Prioritize renewable energy sources in the EU (wind, solar, etc.)
to remove market barriers.
- Guarantee the European citizens the right to choose clean energy.
The EU should require all electricity suppliers to show in their bills
and publicity a complete disclosure of their energy sources,
specifying how much CO2 and radwastes are produced.
