Also by John Sauven

Greenpeace activists are not pirates. Even Putin knows that

Posted by John Sauven - 3 October 2013 at 11:08am - Comments

Russian security services seize the Arctic Sunrise at gunpoint

Twenty-eight Greenpeace activists from 18 different countries, and two independent journalists, have been charged in Russia with piracy with a maximum 15 years in prison. This is despite president Putin saying last week: "Obviously, they are not pirates". But what is obvious to Putin, speaking in front of the world's press at an Arctic Forum, may become obscured within the labyrinth of the Russian legal system.

Article tagged as: arctic, climate change, freethearctic30, oil, protests, russia

How the lobbying bill became the charity gagging bill

Posted by John Sauven - 3 September 2013 at 2:37pm - Comments

Charities and campaigning groups have lined up to condemn the 'charity gagging bill'

When David Cameron described the access of business lobbyists to government as "the next big scandal", we thought he was making a prediction.

But his lobbying bill, otherwise known as the 'charity gagging bill', seems so deliberately controversial, and is being rushed through parliament with such unseemly haste, that we're wondering if he was actually making a promise.

Article tagged as: charity gagging bill, politics

Saving the Arctic is environmentalism's biggest challenge yet

Posted by John Sauven - 24 August 2012 at 3:32pm - Comments

Tough at the top: an Arctic sanctuary might be a tall order, but we've done it before in Antarctica

This month we are expecting to see a record ice melt in the Arctic. But this is not a world record we can celebrate. This is a wake-up call from planet Earth.

Article tagged as: #savethearctic, arctic, climate change, oil

Freezing to death: action highlights excess winter fuel deaths

Posted by John Sauven - 22 November 2011 at 12:45pm - Comments

fighting the freeze action outside parliament 2011

by. Credit: David Sandison / Greepeace

Activists create a living room outside of Parliament

This morning, outside of the Houses of Parliament, activists from both Greenpeace and the National Pensioners Convention undertook the first of what I hope will be many joint initiatives. With sofas and tables they created a life size living room, covered with frost to highlight the 25,700 excess winter deaths that were announced today.

Article tagged as: energy, energy efficiency, excess winter deaths, fuel poverty, george osborne, houses of parliament

McKinsey's bad advice is threatening rainforests - it can't be trusted

Posted by John Sauven - 10 November 2011 at 4:10pm - Comments

Devastated forest land in an Asia Pulp & Paper concession, Sumatra April 2010

Advice from consultancy firm McKinsey will lead to more deforestation, not less as it claims

This week, the Guardian uncovered evidence of global consultancy firm McKinsey profiting from the shake-up to the NHS. At the same time, McKinsey was paid £250,000 a year by the UK government for advice on the transition towards health secretary Andrew Lansley's vision for the service.

Article tagged as: congo, cop17, deforestation, DRC, durban, indonesia, McKinsey, papua new guinea, REDD

Barred from Indonesia for working in support of president’s efforts to stop deforestation

Posted by John Sauven - 17 October 2011 at 3:35pm - Comments

If deforestation isn't halted in Indonesia, Sumatran elephants face an uncertain future

I’ve been working with Greenpeace for more than 20 years and until now I had never been deported from any country. Until last week, that is, when I tried to enter Indonesia to spend time with our staff in Jakarta in support of their work against deforestation.

Article tagged as: APP, asia pulp and paper, deforestation, GAR, golden agri resources, indonesia

Chernobyl: 25 years on

Posted by John Sauven - 26 April 2011 at 12:11pm - Comments

Nearby village Rosochovz. People are not allowed to move into the area, only leave.

Twenty five years ago today, the peace and tranquillity of the small Russian town of Pripyat was shattered when reactor number four at the Chernobyl nuclear power station exploded.

Article tagged as: chernobyl, climate, climate change, energy, fukushima, nuclear power, renewable energy, subsidies

Japan needs our support

Posted by John Sauven - 16 March 2011 at 6:37pm - Comments

Today many people are struggling to recover from the effects of the earthquakes and tsunami. The focus now for everybody should be on saving lives and supporting people in Japan. Our thoughts are also with the heroic engineers working to reduce the impact of the nuclear accident at Fukushima.

Article tagged as: clean energy, earthquake, emergency, EU, japan, nuclear power, tsunami

Britain's chronic dependence on oil

Posted by John Sauven - 7 March 2011 at 4:16pm - Comments

Melting icebergs in the path of rigs in the Arctic, the latest oil frontier

Disquiet around fuel prices always makes ministers sit up and take notice. This is the fourth time in a decade that spiraling oil prices have left politicians facing angry motorists demanding ministers do something about petrol prices.

Article tagged as: arctic, chris huhne, climate change, go beyond oil, oil

Negotiators face a steep climb to rescue climate agreement

Posted by John Sauven - 29 November 2010 at 1:22pm - Comments

It isn't making the big headlines we saw last year, but the need for a global climate agreement is more obvious than ever as climate impacts accelerate.

Article tagged as: cancun, cop16, global agreement, UN

Greenpeace UK