Earlier this year, six Greenpeace International activists managed to board and occupy a moving Shell oil platform. The platform was making its way towards the North Sea to unlock new oil wells.
Our demand was clear: Shell must stop drilling for new oil and gas, and start paying up for causing decades of climate damage.
The protest continued for 13 days and almost 4,000km. During this time, Shell reported record annual profits of nearly $40bn. But they won’t pay a penny towards fixing the climate chaos they’ve caused.
Like so many of us, the activists who occupied Shells’ platform all experience the climate crisis in different ways – from rising energy bills and flooding to heatwaves and typhoons. This protest took the fight for climate justice straight to Shell, in a way they couldn’t ignore. Standing with millions of people worldwide, who are losing their lives, loved ones and homes to climate breakdown caused by fossil fuel giants.
Well, we got Shell’s attention. Now they’re suing Greenpeace UK and Greenpeace International, threatening a multi million dollar lawsuit and a protest ban.
These bullying tactics threaten the global fight for climate justice. Will you help us stand up to Shell and donate today to the Stop Shell Appeal?
Why is Shell suing Greenpeace?
Shell is trying to silence us. They’re demanding we stop protesting at any of their facilities at sea or in port, anywhere in the world, ever again, or otherwise face a $1.7m+ damages claim and a wide-ranging injunction to limit our right to protest.
Our protest was peaceful, safe and carefully planned. We caused no damage. It’s Shell who must pay for the climate devastation they’re causing globally, all to chase profit.
What’s at stake for climate action?
This is huge. For more than 50 years, Greenpeace has campaigned to defend people and our natural world from extractive and destructive forces like Shell.
But these aggressive legal tactics, the huge sums of money and attempts to block the right to protest pose a massive threat. It could stop Greenpeace being able to make a real difference on the things that matter most.
This is even bigger than Greenpeace too.
It’s part of a growing trend by powerful corporations and governments to crush peaceful protest – using draconian laws or intimidation lawsuits like this. It seeks to silence the people most impacted by the climate crisis. This threatens the global fight for climate justice.
We won’t give up. This is Shell versus all of us.
We will fight this in the courts, but to do that we need your help. Please donate to fund Greenpeace’s legal fight.
Update, 29 January 2024. This article was updated to reflect the particulars of Shell’s claim. Shell originally threatened to seek damages in excess of $8 million. Their official claim is now damages around $1 million plus legal costs which could spiral into multiple millions.
