GREENPEACE PHOTOS: Proposed NOLA Gas-Fired Power Plant In Barry Climate Impact Zone
New Orleans, Louisiana, July 12, 2019 — Today, as Tropical Storm Barry heads toward landfall in Southern Louisiana, Gulf Coast communities are renewing calls to stop investments in destructive fossil fuel infrastructure and to start real climate action. The storm will arrive just days after the New Orleans City Council vowed to appeal a court decision blocking the construction of a new gas-fired power plant in Barry’s impact zone.
Meteorologists predict additional heavy rainfall, storm surges, and flooding in the region through the weekend. That flooding could affect Entergy New Orleans’ proposed gas-fired power plant site. Aerial photos taken by Greenpeace yesterday show the proposed site, an area designated by FEMA as a “high-risk flood hazard.” If completed, this Entergy New Orleans power plant would emit more than 700 million pounds of greenhouse gases each year, making climate change worse, and pose significant health risks for the predominantly African-American and Vietnamese-American residents living near the facility.
Greenpeace USA Climate Campaign Director Janet Redman said in response:
“The human impacts of climate-fueled disasters like Barry are staggering, and our greatest concern is for those currently in its path. Communities across the Gulf are still recovering from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and even Katrina, but instead of taking action to prevent future climate disasters, our government has chosen to put the climate-polluting fossil fuel industry on life support. It’s time to hold oil and gas executives — and their enabling politicians — accountable for their role in the climate crisis.”
While no individual weather event can be directly attributed to climate change, scientists have consistently warned that rising global temperatures will lead to more intense and more frequent major storms.
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice Executive Director Dr. Beverly Wright said:
“For us, preparing for a hurricane doesn’t start when something is churning in the Gulf. It is part of the choices we make in New Orleans to protect our future. We need clear-eyed leadership in New Orleans that is just as responsive to a hurricane as it is to protecting our future from climate pollution. Finding equitable solutions to the climate crisis starts at home and with the people who have the most to lose.”
ENDS
Photo and video (more will be added in the coming days): https://media.greenpeace.org/shoot/27MZIFJ8XFSB5
Contacts:
Ryan Schleeter, Senior Communications Specialist, Greenpeace USA: +1 (415) 342-2386. [email protected]
Travis Nichols, Media Director, Greenpeace USA: +1 (206) 802-8498, [email protected]
