NORTHERN LIGHTS: NORTHERN GLOOM

22 April 2000

Embargoed to 24:00 GMT Saturday April 22 Greenpeace announced today that it has withdrawn, for now, its on-ice protest against BP's Northstar project in the Alaskan Arctic. The announcement follows a spectacular vote at BP Amoco's AGM in London last week, when a shareholder resolution calling for the Northstar project to be abandoned was supported by a staggering 13 per cent of shareholder votes, despite the opposition of the Board of Directors.

The Alaskan Arctic is already suffering the effects of global warming. 40 per cent of the Arctic ice pack has melted over the past 40 years, according to NASA scientists. Greenpeace is campaigning against the construction of Northstar because the technology it pioneers will open the Arctic Ocean to oil exploration. The oil produced by Northstar and future projects will contribute further to the destruction of the Arctic ecosystem through global warming.

Ice camp Sirius, on the Arctic ice-pack six miles off the Alaskan coast, was constructed in February and housed up to 15 activists monitoring BP's invasion of the Arctic Ocean. Between 10 March and 13 April, 15 activists were arrested by police for allegedly violating BP’s questionable ‘no-go zone’ around the construction site on the frozen Beaufort Sea. The activists’ trials, all on the charge of 2nd degree criminal trespass, will take place between late May and late July.

"We intend to continue our campaign against Northstar, including legal challenges. This project is bad for the local environment, bad for the global climate, and bad for BP's self-styled green image," said Steve Sawyer, leader of Greenpeace's Arctic project.

"We expect BP's Directors to take the shareholder vote seriously, as a threat to the company's carefully built green image. We believe that the vote will force BP Amoco to reconsider its position on Northstar."

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

- Steve Sawyer (in Anchorage) +1 202 258 3027
- Greenpeace media in Amsterdam: Susan Cavanagh +31 621 296 910

Photos are file pictures taken at the end of March at the Greenpeace Sirius Ice Camp, Beaufort Sea, Alaska by photographer Gavin Newman. Pictures show, in excellent clarity, the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) with the Ice Camp in the foreground and BP’s Northstar project industrial lights seen in the far distance.
For photos contact Franca Michienzi +31 653 81 92 55
Photos: Greenpeace International Picture Desk website:
www.greenpeace.org/library/picturedesk.html

More information on Greenpeace's Arctic ice-camp can be found here: www.greenpeace.org/~climate/arctic