Houston, Texas — In response to the charges brought against the Greenpeace activists in Houston, Greenpeace general counsel Tom Wetterer said:
“Greenpeace takes safety very seriously. Our activists have the skills and experience necessary to have done this activity safely. The most dangerous thing about the shipping channel wasn’t the Greenpeace climbers, it continues to be the fossil fuel executives’ reckless plans to push us further towards climate chaos.
“Critical infrastructure laws like Texas’ were created by oil and gas lobbyists and secretive groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council to restrict First Amendment rights and to try to bring to bear extraordinary consequences for legitimate protests. This is a bullying tactic that serves the interests of corporations at the expense of people exercising their right to free speech.
“We are in a climate emergency, created by the fossil fuel industry and made worse by Trump. We have little more than a decade to take ambitious action to cut fossil fuel use in half and transition to renewable energy. We can either take the bold actions necessary to stave off climate crisis today or suffer the radical consequences of climate-fueled disasters — more floods, more megastorms, and more fires — for years to come. We’re here today because there’s no time to waste.”
ENDS
Contacts:
Ryan Schleeter, Greenpeace USA: +1 (415) 342-2386, [email protected]
Valentina Stackl, Greenpeace USA: +1 (734) 276-6260, [email protected]
