{"id":53168,"date":"2022-09-12T09:30:35","date_gmt":"2022-09-11T21:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?p=53168"},"modified":"2024-07-12T11:13:14","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T23:13:14","slug":"victory-shell-south-africa-seismic-blasting-oil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/victory-shell-south-africa-seismic-blasting-oil\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Victory for the planet\u2019 \u2013 South Africans celebrate court win to stop Shell\u2019s destructive oil exploration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South African courts revoked Shell\u2019s exploration \u2018rights\u2019 to do seismic blasting off its beautiful Wild Coast last week \u2013 and we\u2019re still dancing with joy at the news!<\/p>\n\n

This is a massive victory for local communities fighting toxic fossil fuel companies to protect their livelihoods and our environment \u2013 including the whales and dolphins that would have been subject to deafening seismic blasts EVERY 10 SECONDS. \u2060<\/p>\n\n

The judgement to stop Shell is a victory for people across Africa, and everywhere, fighting for a better planet against polluting and destructive industries.<\/p>\n\n

None of this would have been possible without the efforts of Sustaining the Wild Coast<\/a>, Amadiba Crisis Committee<\/a>, Natural Justice<\/a>, Legal Resources Centre<\/a>, Wild Coast communities, and the hundreds of thousands of people taking action online and on the ground. It shows how powerful we can be when we come together.<\/p>\n\n

\"Protest
Approximately 500 people attend the protests held at Muizenberg, Cape Town. People across South Africa are vehemently opposing Shell\u2019s plans to conduct seismic blasting in the Wild Coast. The seismic blasting threatens to destroy precious ecosystems and impact local communities. \u00a9 Greenpeace \/ Fixerfilm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Recap \u2013 how did we get here?<\/h2>\n\n

Last year, petroleum giant Shell announced that it would start searching for oil and gas reserves off South Africa\u2019s eastern coast. The government had granted the company exploration rights in 2014, renewing them in 2021. Under the ruling, Shell could conduct underwater explosions to locate deep-sea oil and gas reserves \u2013 deafening blasts that can disturb, injure and kill marine life.<\/p>\n\n

But the plans were met with strong resistance by coastal and Indigenous communities<\/a>, creative protests at South Africa\u2019s beaches and Shell stations and the company\u2019s head offices in London and Amsterdam \u2013 and petitions signed by hundreds of thousands of supporters online.<\/p>\n\n

Local organisations took the case to court, arguing that exploration rights were granted unlawfully: affected communities were not consulted and decision makers failed to consider the harm to local people\u2019s rights \u2013 and the global climate.<\/p>\n\n

On 1 September 2022, the High Court in Makhanda, Eastern Cape revoked Shell\u2019s exploration rights, ruling that they were granted illegally. The judge also acknowledged the key role of the ocean in the livelihoods and spiritual and cultural life of coastal communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

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A post shared by Greenpeace International \ud83c\udf0d (@greenpeace)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>