{"id":44442,"date":"2020-07-31T11:20:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-31T09:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=44442"},"modified":"2026-06-29T15:37:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T13:37:17","slug":"the-north-seas-choice-revolution-or-destruction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/44442\/the-north-seas-choice-revolution-or-destruction\/","title":{"rendered":"The North Sea\u2019s choice: Revolution or Destruction?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since its beginning in the 1960s, the North Sea oil industry has earned billions of Euros profit and helped fill the coffers of a number of European governments. At the same time these oil and gas operations have contributed to the climate crisis, marine pollution, and endangered marine life.&nbsp;<br><br>But <strong>we need to leave that behind.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large caption-style-medium caption-alignment-center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"666\" title=\"Oil Rig in Brent Oil Field in North Sea\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2020\/07\/06d0067b-gp02zcy_medium_res-1024x666.jpg\" alt=\"Oil rig &#039;Ninian&#039; in the Brent Oil Field.\" class=\"wp-image-44444\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2020\/07\/06d0067b-gp02zcy_medium_res-1024x666.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2020\/07\/06d0067b-gp02zcy_medium_res-300x195.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2020\/07\/06d0067b-gp02zcy_medium_res-768x500.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2020\/07\/06d0067b-gp02zcy_medium_res-510x332.jpg 510w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2020\/07\/06d0067b-gp02zcy_medium_res.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption aria-hidden=\"true\">Oil rig &#8216;Ninian&#8217; in the Brent Oil Field. \u00a9 Karsten Smid \/ Greenpeace<div class=\"credit icon-left\">  \u00a9 Karsten Smid \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The consequences of the fossil fuels operations in the North Sea are devastating:&nbsp;<\/h4>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The equivalent of 1 oil tanker accident per year and 1 chemical accident per day have been polluting the ocean and threatening the amazing biodiversity that lives there.<\/li><li>Thousands of jobs in the oil and gas sector are being lost with no planning for a just transition for the workers, and the situation is going to worsen.<\/li><li>The increasing greenhouse gas emissions are accelerating the climate emergency in a way that makes it almost impossible to tackle.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is not exactly breaking news &#8211; we know that returning to normal after Covid-19 will destroy our oceans, the climate, and cost jobs. We also know that the most vulnerable people and regions of the planet will suffer terrible consequences.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fortunately, <strong>we still have a choice.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We need to look forward to a clean and healthy North Sea: as a source of 100% renewable energy that could provide greener jobs, and where extraordinary biodiversity &#8211; from cold water corals to hundreds of species of fish, marine mammals, and millions of sea birds &#8211; is protected.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large caption-style-medium caption-alignment-center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" title=\"Marine Organisms in the North Sea\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2020\/07\/3d79e855-gp0stpnhb_medium_res-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"A sea star on the bottom of the North Sea, during a dive inspection at the Cleaver Bank  in the middle of the Dutch North Sea. The aim is to research the current condition of the bottom sea bed and marine life.  According to Greenpeace, the Cleaver Bank has the highest biodiversity in the Dutch North Sea and has been seriously damaged by many years of intensive fishing.\" class=\"wp-image-44445\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2020\/07\/3d79e855-gp0stpnhb_medium_res-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2020\/07\/3d79e855-gp0stpnhb_medium_res-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2020\/07\/3d79e855-gp0stpnhb_medium_res-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2020\/07\/3d79e855-gp0stpnhb_medium_res-510x287.jpg 510w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2020\/07\/3d79e855-gp0stpnhb_medium_res.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption aria-hidden=\"true\">A sea star on the bottom of the North Sea \u00a9 Kick Stokvis \/ Greenpeace<div class=\"credit icon-left\">  \u00a9 Kick Stokvis \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But to make it possible, we need to start the #NorthSeaRevolution, and we need to start it now!<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We have a unique chance to #BuildBackBetter and to put people and nature first. We can fight the climate crisis and make a just transition to end the age of oil, if we stay alert and mobilised and act in solidarity with those who are suffering the most.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/campaign\/north-sea-revolution\/\">Join us to force governments to start a safe, fair, and green transition<\/a> and for a North Sea free of fossil fuels!<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The North Sea revolution is starting<\/strong>, and we need you on our side!<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Silvia Diaz is a North Sea Revolution engagement expert at Greenpeace International<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"EmptyMessage\">Block content is empty. Check the block&#8217;s settings or remove it.<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The North Sea&#8217;s Fossil fuel industry is destroying the climate and ocean. Help us start a revolution: call on European governments to make a green transition. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":44444,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_planet4_optimize_post_is_variant":false,"_planet4_optimize_experiment_name":"","_planet4_optimize_variant_name":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"The North Sea\u2019s choice: Revolution or Destruction?","p4_og_description":"<p>The North Sea's Fossil fuel industry is destroying the climate and ocean. Help us start a revolution: call on European governments to make a green transition.<\/p>","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"North Sea Ship Tour","p4_local_project":"North Sea Ship Tour","p4_basket_name":"not set","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70,69],"tags":[65,85],"p4-page-type":[59],"class_list":["post-44442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nature","category-energy","tag-energy-revolution","tag-oceans","p4-page-type-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44442"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53789,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44442\/revisions\/53789"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44442"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=44442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}