press releases

Cairn Energy, who are spearheading the new Arctic oil rush, also admits that the sort of conventional spill response techniques used in the Gulf of Mexico - such as booms, skimmers and dispersants -will be significantly less effective, if not completely useless, in the harsh Arctic environment. (1)

The Greenpeace ship Esperanza will set off from London later today to confront the oil industry's 'reckless pursuit' of the last drops of oil on the planet, but campaigners are refusing to reveal the eventual target until later in the voyage.

The environmental group pledged to meet the industry head-on as it rushes to drill for oil in ever more difficult and dangerous environments (1).

BP is being prevented from selling fuel anywhere in central London this morning by Greenpeace activists who have shut down every petrol station in the capital and put up signs which say: "Closed. Moving beyond petroleum".

Later this morning BP is expected to announce the appointment of Bob Dudley as the company's new CEO. Greenpeace is urging Dudley, who once worked at BP's solar and wind business (1), to take the company in a new direction after his predecessor's obsession with high risk, environmentally reckless sources of oil.

Orang-utans and tigers are being pushed towards extinction by pulp and paper giant APP, according to a new report released today by Greenpeace.

The report documents the areas on the Indonesian island of Sumatra where APP, part of the notorious Sinar Mas group, are destroying the rainforest.

Among the areas is the Bukit Tigapuluh Forest Landscape, which is one of the last remaining rainforest homes of the critically endangered Sumatran tiger and home to the only successful re-introduction program for the Sumatran orangutan.

Responding to today's Climate Change Committee report, which warned that the government could fail to meet emissions reduction targets, Greenpeace energy campaigner Vicky Wyatt said:

"For far too long, politicians in government have been all talk and no trousers when it comes to climate change. And that's what this report is saying.

Greenpeace campaigners attempted to free endangered bluefin tuna from a fishing net in the Mediterranean Sea this afternoon.

Using high-speed inflatable boats, they tried to manoeuvre the net to allow the fish, some of the last remaining bluefin in the ocean, to escape.

However, their attempts were met with fierce resistance from the French tuna fishing vessel. They were soon joined by other tuna ships.

A DEAL announced today to protect Indonesia's rainforests still does not protect millions of hectares of rainforest, home to some of the last remaining orangutans, warned Greenpeace. 

Indonesia will stop handing out permits for companies to chop down rainforests and drain peatlands for two years under the agreement. But those companies that have already received permission will still be allowed to trash large areas of the remaining rainforests. 

And there is concern that there could be a rush to get permits before the government starts its temporary halt. 

Greenpeace has launched a groundbreaking new competition which invites designers and industry experts, as well as members of the public, to redesign BP's logo to better reflect the company's operations abroad. 

Climbers have scaled BP's London HQ and are currently hoisting a large oil-soaked version of the company's bright green logo above the entrance. Chief Executive Tony Hayward is expected to arrive imminently to chair a board meeting which will focus on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Greenpeace volunteers arrived at 0530 before climbing onto a small metal balcony above the front door. They then attached a specially designed giant flag to the company's flagpole bearing the words "British Polluters" alongside the altered BP logo.

Chocolate giant Nestle has agreed to stop using palm oil and other ingredients from suppliers that destroy the rainforest home of the last remaining orangutans in its popular snacks such as KitKat.

The move to cut deforestation out of the supply chain of the world's largest food and drink company comes just two months after Greenpeace launched a campaign urging Nestle to stop using palm oil and pulp and paper products from companies trashing rainforests in Indonesia.