I’ve arrived at the Greenpeace International office in Amsterdam where I’ll be based for the next couple of weeks. It’s a better option than flying to and from Europe prior to Copenhagen.

The first thing you notice in Amsterdam (apart from the wonderful buildings) is the absence of traffic noise.  The second thing you notice is lots of bicycles.  They’re everywhere.  The roads are designed with cycling in mind and there are plenty of cycle paths. And there’s reliable regular public transport.  It’s very easy to get where you want to without using a car.

Compared with any New Zealand city there are very few cars on the road with little evidence of congestion.  It’s a good reminder that in many New Zealand towns and cities we could do a lot to cut our greenhouse gas emissions by taking a much more sensible approach to roads.  It makes me cringe to think how much money Infrastructure Minister Stephen Joyce is wasting by plundering the public transport budget to build roads without first checking whether the roads will benefit the country. http://www.bettertransport.org.nz/2009/05/economic-benefits-of-roads-of-national-significance-unknown/

Fonterra Climate Crime

Just before dawn this morning Greenpeace activists shut down a pit in the Southland  ‘New Vale’  lignite coalmine.

The dirty lignite coal is used by Fonterra to help fuel operations at its nearby Edendale dairy factory. Like the two palm kernel shipments bound for Fonterra dairy farms recently, the activists have labeled the lignite mine as another Fonterra climate crime.

This action follows our recent expose of Fonterra’s role in rainforest destruction for palm based animal feed and two actions on palm kernel imports into New Zealand.

At the mine activists unfurled a massive 40 by 40 metre banner, reading Fonterra Climate Crime on the ground of the opencast mine. Other activists have blocked one of the entrances and locked themselves onto some of the excavating machinery. See more at http://www.greenpeace.org.nz

Today Greenpeace activists locked down four excavators in the carbon-rich Kampar Peninsula belonging to pulp and paper company APRIL to highlight the need to immediately halt all deforestation in Indonesia.

Carbon emission from deforestation and degradation of forest and peat land areas is the major contributor to Indonesia being the third largest emitter in the world.

At 6.15 am more than 50 activists arrived at the APRIL site. Half an hour later three excavators have been locked down and a banner deployed saying ” OBAMA YOU CAN STOP THIS”.

With three teams blocking excavators, other activists are holding smaller signs saying “climate crime”, in reference to APRIL’s huge contribution to climate change through its massive clearance of forests, with fresh evidence of illegal deforestation.

Follow the action on Twitter or the Climate Defenders page.

The Kampar peninsula on the island of Sumatra sits deep in the heart of the Indonesian rainforest. Part of the ring of tropical forest that circles the middle of the planet, it’s rich with diversity – a unique and complex ecosystem, sustaining fishing communities, hunters and farmers, full of unique plants and animals, and home to endangered species like the Sumatran tiger and the Wallace’s hawk, not found anywhere else in the world. Read more »

Images are a powerful way of telling a story especially when they capture emotion.

On Tuesday evening a small crowd which attended a public seminar, organised by Greenpeace and the Indonesia Human Rights Committee, on the palm industry and rainforest destruction, got a chance to see and hear what is happening in Indonesia, Malaysia and West Papua right now.

There were the expected photos of burning rainforests and landscapes looking like war zones but the most powerful images were close-ups of the two faces which were part of a presentation by Hauraki farmer Max Purnell who travelled to Indonesian in August to see first hand what was happening. Read more »

Have you sent YOUR climate care package to Copenhagen?

We urgently need your help in the lead up to the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen this December.

We’re trying to get as many people as we can to send a virtual package to the conference. Each package contains our demands and, if you have time, a brilliant slogan — to be delivered by a quirky cardboard cartoon character with YOUR face on it. The best slogan will appear on a Greenpeace banner and the characters will be part of a virtual video march. The more we have the better:

The Climate Summit will see over 15,000 officials from 200 countries gather in Copenhagen with 1 goal: to agree on a deal to combat global warming. This is a truly incredible event which has the power to mark a U-turn away from decades of inaction on climate change. That’s why we want to make sure they not only agree on a deal, but make a firm pact for change that packages together 3 clear actions:

1. Big cuts in emissions from rich countries
2. A fund to save our forests
3. Funds to help developing countries deal with climate change

Please, help us make sure their solution truly delivers. Visit action-pact.org and send  your message.

Let’s make sure our political leaders know we want them thinking about the next generation, not just the next election.

Come and learn more about the campaign to stop imports from palm industry and protect the old growth forests and people of Indonesia and West Papua.

Speakers
Simon Boxer: Greenpeace senior climate campaigner
Max Purnell: Independent farmer who accompanied Greenpeace to Indonesia to assess the impact of Fontera’s palm kernel imports
Catherine Delahunty: Green Party MP, sponsor of the new bill to combat deforestation
Maire Leadbeater: Indonesia Human Rights Committee and ‘Don’t buy kwila campaign’

Date: Tuesday, 27 October 2009, 7pm
Venue: Lecture theatre 404, Engineering bldg, Symonds Street, Auckland University
Sponsored by: Greenpeace, 11 Akiraho St, Mt Eden Phone 630-6317 and Indonesia Human Rights Committee

Coal and oil companies are using forest offset projects to try and cheat the climate. Our new report Carbon Scam investigates how American Electric Power, BP and Pacificorp – all investors in the Noel Kempff Climate Action Project in Bolivia – are using the forest protection project to try and avoid reducing their own greenhouse gas emissions.

How do you measure success? Many times, it’s difficult to point to one specific moment when a campaign delivers a big moment that demonstrates, beyond any doubt, that you’ve succeeded.

Well, our thanks go to E.ON for providing that moment for our coal campaign late last night – just as we were leaving the office, in fact. On my way to the pub, I met a press officer running back towards the front door – “E.ON have shelved Kingsnorth – just got to go and check if it’s real, see you in a few…” Read more »

Over the weekend we renewed our call for John Key and dairy giant Fonterra to stop the import of palm based animal feed because of its devastating climate impact. Greenpeace activists painted a large “Fonterra Climate Crime” on a shipment from Indonesia in the Port of Taranaki. Read more »