Feature story - October 20, 2008
The Quit Coal tour was back in action this weekend in Italy. Activists showed up at the E.ON owned Fiume Santo coal-fired power station to let Sardinia and E.ON know their plan to expand coal capacity in the region wouldn’t go unnoticed.
Coal is the most polluting of fossil fuels, responsible for a third of global greenhouse emissions.
The activists' message certainly didn't go unnoticed. Activists
stopped the two conveyor belts delivering coal into the furnace of
the coal fired plant. While climbers maintained a 14 hour
occupation of the conveyor belt and a net secured net below, the
regional environmental minister met with us. He promised the
regional government would revise its energy plans to meet EU
climate protection targets.
Building the wrong capacity
In a time where we should be looking towards renewable energy,
local authorities in Sardinia have plans to expand the coal
capacity in the region. Together with E.ON - one of the largest
utilities companies in Europe - the local authorities plan to
convert two older units at the plant from oil to coal. E.ON also
plans to invest €50 billion in the next two years to increase
energy generation capacity. They plan to build eight new coal
plants in Germany, Belgium, the UK and the Netherlands (costing
around €1.2 billion each) and to construct another 2000 mega-watts
of coal-fired capacity in the rest of the EU.
Quit coal tour
Both Greenpeace ships Rainbow Warrior and Arctic Sunrise are
currently bringing the 'Quit Coal' message to the Mediterranean and
Europe. The expedition, from Israel to Poland, is happening in the
run-up to crucial UN climate negotiations in Poznan, Poland, this
December, where quitting coal will be essential to a meaningful
deal to save the climate.
Earlier this year the Rainbow Warrior brought the energy
revolution message to New Zealand.
If we are to reduce our emissions and do our bit to ensure the
same reductions happen around the world, we need to be a model
global citizen and work to reduce the amount of coal that is burnt
both at home and abroad.
Energy [R]evolution
If we're serious about stopping climate change we need an Energy [R]evolution.
Greenpeace's Energy [R]evolution scenario shows how renewable
energy, combined with energy efficiency, can cut global
CO2 emissions by 50% and deliver half the world's energy
needs by 2050.
Summary (7
pages) | Full report (96
pages)