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Greenpeace wins World Press Photo award for effects of climate change and nuclear power
Greenpeace International has won two prizes at the prestigious World Press Photo awards for images depicting the drought in the Amazon last year and the lingering effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The photographs were taken by Greenpeace commissioned photographers Daniel Beltra and Robert Knoth.
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The awards come on the day that scientists revealed the climate is at its warmest in the Northern hemisphere for more than 1,200 years (1) and just two months before the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl explosion. The photographs are a timely reminder of the failure of governments and corporations to act in the past, and the job still to be done to stop dangerous climate change and the ugly reality of nuclear power.
"There are no prizes for those who made these photographs a reality," said International Executive Director Gerd Leipold. "The images are a graphic warning of the consequences of the global obsession with dirty energy at the expense of communities and the environment."
The photographs were taken by Greenpeace commissioned photographers Daniel Beltra and Robert Knoth.
"The pictures are all the more powerful, not just because of their quality, but also because of the message they send. They are a view of the present, but also a glimpse of what the future might look like unless action is taken now," said Greenpeace International photo editor John Novis.
Notes to Editor
(1)The Spatial Extent of 20th-Century Warmth in the Context of the Past 1200 Years -Timothy J. Osborn and Keith R. Briffa; Science 10 February 2006
Greenpeace demands Governments and corporations invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency and massively reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, to combat dangerous climate change.
April 26th is the 20th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear accident, at Chernobyl.
An exhibition of Robert's portraits of nuclear devastation in the former Soviet Union will be launched internationally in April.
Robert Knoth won an 'Honourable Mention'
Daniel Beltra won 3rd Prize in the Nature category. http://www.worldpressphoto.com/index.php?option=com_photogallery&task=view&id=561&Itemid=137&bandwidth=high
Contact information
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Sara Holden, Greenpeace International Communications, Amsterdam +31 615 007 406
John Novis, Greenpeace International Photo editor - in Beijing, China: +86 139 100 98563
