{"id":17219,"date":"2018-06-18T22:27:16","date_gmt":"2018-06-18T22:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=17219"},"modified":"2025-03-01T12:02:55","modified_gmt":"2025-03-01T11:02:55","slug":"energy-transfer-partners-attacks-on-human-rights-free-speech-and-the-environment-have-officially-gone-too-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/17219\/energy-transfer-partners-attacks-on-human-rights-free-speech-and-the-environment-have-officially-gone-too-far\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy Transfer Partners\u2019 attacks on human rights, free speech and the environment have officially gone too far"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Water

Unarmed, peaceful Water Protectors at Standing Rock were forcibly repelled with tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets.<\/p><\/div>\n

Back in December 2014, US company Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) applied for permitting to begin construction on yet another oil project \u2014 the $3.78 billion Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL). The pipeline would carry crude oil from the Bakken shale oil field in the northern United States to an oil storage and transport facility more than 1,000 kilometres away. <\/span><\/p>\n

Yet by the fall of 2016, the controversial project had gained international attention for the egregious and inappropriate tactics ETP used against opponents of DAPL at Standing Rock. <\/span><\/p>\n

To say I was stunned by what I saw unfold at Standing Rock would be an understatement. Witnessing the tactics ETP was willing to utilize to protect its profits was unprecedented in scope \u2014 Water Protectors and allies were subjected to physical harm and unending harassment, not to mention the profound threat and subsequent consequences this pipeline leveled on sacred land. And that was only the beginning. ETP went on to retain private security firms <\/span>now notorious for violent practices<\/span><\/a> and issue a flood of legal tactics and lobbying efforts aimed at restricting free speech.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a breathtaking affront to the fundamental rights of all involved, and the world noticed. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Water

During the height of demonstrations against DAPL, Water Protectors engineered a makeshift pedestrian bridge trying to access ancestral burial grounds that would likely be damaged by the pipeline. They were turned back by heavily armed law enforcement officials.<\/p><\/div>\n

But if you thought the global backlash that developed against these tactics at Standing Rock stopped ETP, think again.\u00a0ETP has not only continued to apply many of the same dirty methods, but it has doubled down on its unethical practices in numerous other pipeline projects across the US. <\/span><\/p>\n

In a new Greenpeace USA report <\/span>\u201cToo Far, Too Often\u201d<\/span><\/a>, we detail ETP\u2019s extreme and unethical tactics used against those that stand up to its pipelines. If one thing is clear, it\u2019s that ETP will stop at nothing to get its pipelines built. If as a corporation, your overarching approach to profit protection is to hire <\/span>TigerSwan \u2014 a US military contractor \u2014 and allow them free reign to use military-style counterterrorism tactics against <\/span>Water Protectors and allies at Standing Rock, it\u2019s obvious that respecting human rights is not your number one concern.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Thousands

Thousands marched through Washington, DC in solidarity with Native Nations resisting the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline.<\/p><\/div>\n

This report is another reminder of why we must put a stop to these pipelines and continue to push back against one of the biggest factors that keep companies like ETP in play \u2014 money. I have a message for the institutions that uphold financial support to ETP and, by extension, its unethical methods: you are associated with<\/span> this mess if your services provide the financial backing that allows these practices to continue. You have a choice to make, and it should be an obvious one. <\/span><\/p>\n

ETP\u2019s inability or unwillingness to learn the necessary lessons from DAPL could bring even more trouble for banks. And while ETP has shown little sign of changing its ways, the institutions that offer financing and loans to the company <\/span>can.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Here are just some of the dirty tactics from ETP\u2019s playbook that we uncovered. Learn more in the full report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Violating Indigenous sovereignty and rights<\/h2>\n