Lysekil, Sweden – Continuing two days of peaceful protest, six activists from Greenpeace Nordic this morning climbed the cranes in the oil harbour at Preem\u2019s oil refinery in Brofjorden, Lysekil, on Sweden\u2019s west coast. By blocking the cranes at the terminal, they prevented the crude oil tanker Grena Knutsen from unloading crude oil to Preem\u2019s oil refinery. The activists were detained by the police.<\/p>\n\n
The protest started at 19.30 CET on Thursday, when the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior sailed into the harbour passage and successfully blocked the Grena Knutsen from entering Preem\u2019s oil refinery. No crude oil has been able to arrive at the refinery for the past 62 hours.<\/p>\n\n
Johanna Grant Ax\u00e9n, one of the activists blocking the crude oil harbour says:<\/p>\n\n
\u201cTo me it\u2019s obvious that it\u2019s impossible to reduce emissions by expanding an oil refinery. All fossil production must come to an end and our climate emissions must rapidly decrease to zero. When that doesn\u2019t happen, I feel obliged to do everything in my power to make a difference. I want Swedish Prime Minister Stefan L\u00f6fven to stop the expansion of Preem\u2019s Oil Refinery and ensure Sweden takes the situation seriously and leads the way to a green just transition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
The protest has received support from prominent celebrities such as the climate activist Greta Thunberg<\/a>, the pop-artist Robyn<\/a> and actors Gustaf Skarsg\u00e5rd<\/a> and Juana Viale.<\/a><\/p>\n\n Greenpeace Nordic demands that Prime Minister Stefan L\u00f6fven and the Swedish government choose the Paris Agreement over Preem and stop the planned expansion of the refinery in Lysekil.<\/p>\n\n Isadora Wronski, Programme Manager for Greenpeace Sweden says:<\/p>\n\n \u201cThe oil industry has no future, and the sooner our leaders act on that insight the more ecosystems and lives we can save. We don\u2019t have much time, the world is burning, Stefan L\u00f6fven must choose the Paris agreement and our future over Preem. The peaceful protest continues and grows stronger day by day.\u201d <\/p>\n\n The peaceful climate action was carried out with the utmost caution and safety of activists, staff and equipment in the area. All activists were experienced climbers and used ATEX-classified equipment for work in hazardous environments. The activists also had measuring equipment to ensure that they were not exposed to any hazardous substances when staying in the area.<\/p>\n\n ENDS<\/p>\n\n Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Photo and video from the activity is found here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n A campaign briefing can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n (1) Background<\/a> on the Preemraff court case and appeals<\/p>\n\n (2) Read more about Preem\u2019s expansion and the Swedish climate law here<\/a><\/p>\n\n This action is part of the wider movement Stoppa Preemraff\u2019s \u201cweeks of action\u201d against Preem\u2019s expansions, including the Flotilla<\/a> the Rainbow Warrior participated in on 5 September.<\/p>\n\n Contacts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Ludvig Tillman, Communication Officer, Greenpeace Nordic, ludvig.tillman@greenpeace.org, +46 070 271 64 37<\/p>\n\n Aud Hegli Nord\u00f8, Acting Head of Communications Nordic, aud.nordo@greenpeace.org, +47 41470649<\/p>\n\n Greenpeace International Press Desk, pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org, <\/p>\n\n +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours)<\/p>\n\n