Press release - 16 November, 2008
Two Greenpeace ships, the Rainbow Warrior and the Beluga II, have blocked the Mississippi harbour in Rotterdam to prevent coal cargo ships coming in to unload. Today's action, part of a weekend long protest in the Netherlands against German utility company E.ON, follows the arrest of 90 Greenpeace activists yesterday after they peacefully stopped construction of E.ON's new coal plant at Maasvlakte, Rotterdam.
E.ON plans to build eight new coal plants across Europe (1).
Coal is the worst polluting of all fossil fuels, and burning it is
the single greatest threat to the climate.
"Greenpeace has taken action today to stop a climate disaster"
said Rolf Schipper, Greenpeace Netherlands, climate and energy
campaigner. "The Netherlands already produces more energy than it
needs, and plans to export electricity from 2009, so building new
coal is just crazy (2). E.ON must see sense, and shift its
investments from this dirtiest of energy sources to clean renewable
technologies."
The activities in Rotterdam are part of Greenpeace's global Quit
Coal Campaign. The Greenpeace flagship, Rainbow Warrior, is engaged
in a ten-month "Quit Coal" expedition, which started in March in
New Zealand and is currently in Europe. Further, a Climate Rescue
Station has been established on the edge of a vast coal mine in
Poland, in the run-up to crucial UN climate negotiations in Poznan,
Poland, this December.
Quitting coal is essential to a meaningful deal to save the
climate. European governments must show leadership by phasing-out
coal in their own countries. Greenpeace's Energy [R]evolution shows
how renewable energy, combined with greater energy efficiency, can
cut global CO2 emissions by 50% and deliver half the world's energy
needs by 2050 (3).
VVPR info: Agnes de Rooij, Greenpeace International, climate and energy campaigner, +31 6 41 45 66 74 Rolf Schipper, Greenpeace Netherlands, climate and energy campaigner +31 6-52062972 André van der Vlugt, Greenpeace Netherlands, press officer +31 6-25031015 Greenpeace International Photo desk, +1 206 300 6511, 
Greenpeace International Video desk, +31 646197322 Greenpeace International press desk +31 20 718 2470
Notes: 1. "Monitorings en kwaliteit plan 2007-2030" -available from www.tennet.org 2. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/coal-the-eu-and-eon 3. www.greenpeace.org/energyrevolution