Greenpeace New Zealand Weblog

Greenpeace activists have shut down coal loading at Hay Point Coal Terminal in Mackay, Queensland – one of the largest coal export terminals in the world. The 10 activists have scaled a 50-metre high coal loader and locked onto the structure to stop its operation.

Today’s action follows yesterday’s occupation of Abbot Point coal terminal to the north of Mackay. Watch our blog or Twitter for updates as they happen.

In the meantime, here’s a video of yesterday’s action.

More updates at http://www.greenpeace.org.au/blog/energy/

(C) Greenpeace/Pratten

Breaking news from across the ditch: Greenpeace and Pacific activists have shut down Abbott Point coal export terminal in Queensland in protest over the impacts of climate change on Pacific islands and crazy plans to massively expand the terminal.

It’s all ahead of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s attendance at the Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns tomorrow. He’ll be talking to leaders of countries already affected by climate change. Rudd has a choice — “stand by our Pacific Island neighbours and stop coal expansion or commit Australia and the Pacific to even greater climate change impacts.”

Live updates on Facebook, Twitter and the Greenpeace Australia blog as the action unfolds.

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In reality, there’s no such thing as clean coal. Learn more. Join the campaign.

Stop Coal!

More than 2,500 former coal miners, ministers, mothers, students, and climate activists, representing over 40 states from Arizona to Appalachia, successfully blocked all five entrances to the US Capitol’s Power Plant for nearly four hours this morning, forming the largest display of civil disobedience on climate change in U.S. history. The organizers (Greenpeace US being one) pronounced the event a success because its scale and the commitment of its participants was the biggest example yet of the kind of public support necessary to solve the climate crisis.

The demonstration has already left an impact on Congress. On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, called for the removal of coal from the plant’s fuel mix. While this is a very small step toward moving the US away from fossil fuels, it does show that public pressure is essential for achieving swift action on the climate.

Check out the Greenpeace photostream of the event: http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/coal

Crowd Scene

It’s being called the biggest U.S. protest on climate change — hundreds of activists have gathered around the tiny coal-fired power plant in Washington that heats and cools the halls of power. The 99-year old facility that powers Capitol Hill may be small in size, but it’s symbolic of the challenges ahead for the US congress when it comes to climate and energy. Barack Obama is promising reductions in greenhouse gases, and to clean up US energy, yet his administration is still making cups of tea and watching the TV news care of the Government’s own little Huntly.

See the action unfolding live here: http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/coal Read more »

The National Party is set to announce its Cabinet line up in next two days. Former Shadow Leader of the House Gerry Brownlee is likely to feature as Energy Minister.

This is the same Mr Brownlee that has publicly professed a strange coal fetish. He has gone so far as to call this climate-killing energy dinosaur “sexy”. Best Gerry stays well away from Huntly if that’s the case.

He’s also a big fan of gas, another fossil fuel and contributor to climate change. This was all reflected in the party’s energy strategy, released just prior to the election. The strategy failed to even mention climate change and read like something from the 1970s. Read more »

In the UK today, six brave Greenpeace souls will be appearing at Maidstone Crown Court for the start of a trial centring around Kingsnorth, coal and climate change. In October last year, they took a personal stand to protect the environment and climbed to the top of the smokestack at Kingsnorth coal-fired power station in Kent.

Now, the Kingsnorth Six (Ben Stewart, Emily Hall, Huw Williams, Kevin Drake, Tim Hewke and Will Rose) are being prosecuted for criminal damage and trespass.

The trial could last for up to two weeks. While we’ll be restricted in what we can write for legal reasons (including switching off commenting on some blog posts – sorry), the Greenpeace UK team will be blogging and twittering from Maidstone every day.

An activist climbs down a ladder in a stairwell above the coal stockpile. © Greenpeace

Our colleagues across the Tasman have just pulled off an audacious action at the Eraring Power Station.

In a 5.5 hour blockade of the coal fired power station, they stopped more than 10,000 tonnes of greenhouse emissions.

Read more »

Waving goodbye to the Warrior (C) GREENPEACE / Sharomov

Six weeks ago I packed my trunk in my bedroom in Grey Lynn Auckland, boarded a bus and rode downtown to Princes Wharf. There I walked up the gangway of the Rainbow Warrior. It was hot, late summer. American tourists crawled about the Viaduct. On the ship, there was excitement in the air and alleyways; a TARGET CLIMATE CHANGE banner ran between two masts. My cabin was downstairs and to the left. It had “Expect the unexpected” written on the door. I shared it with three others and it smelt like essential oils. I didn’t yet have my favourite spot to sit in the mess during dinner. And I didn’t yet know how to avoid pissing off the first mate. This would all come later. Read more »