Current Green Blog

This guest post comes via Daniel J Kessler, Media officer at Green Peace.

On November 17th, two Greenpeace activists from Germany and Italy and two members of the press from India and Italy, all of whom were traveling on valid business and journalist visas, were picked up and detained by Indonesian police. They were on their way to meet the villagers of Teluk Meranti, who have been supporting Greenpeace in its efforts to highlight rainforest and peatland destruction in the Kampar Peninsula–ground zero for climate change. The police also took into custody an activist from Belgium who had been working at our Climate Defenders Camp there.

Despite the validity of their travel documents and the absence of any wrongdoing, two of the activists and both journalists are now being deported by immigration authorities on questionable and seemingly contrived grounds, even though no formal deportation permits have been issued. Just a few days before, immigration authorities deported eleven other international Greenpeace activists who participated in a non-violent direct action on November 12th, in a concession where APRIL, one of Indonesia’s largest pulp and paper companies, is clearing rainforest and draining peatland on the Peninsula.

We set up the Climate Defenders Camp to bring attention to role of deforestation as a major driver of greenhouse gas emissions in advance of December’s Copenhagen climate negotiations. If we are stop climate change, we must end global deforestation by 2020 and bring it to zero in priority areas like Indonesia by 2015. A drive through the Kampar Peninsula reveals acre after acre of forest conversion from healthy rainforest to palm oil plantations. There is no sign of animal life or biodiversity — just row after row of palm. The destruction of the peatlands helps to make Indonesia the world’s 3rd largest emitter go greenhouse gases, just after the US and China.

In the interest of the environment and human rights, Greenpeace is calling upon world leaders and concerned citizens to contact Indonesia’s President Yudhoyono to ask him to stop these repressive actions by the Indonesian Police and Immigration authorities. The tactics currently being used by the authorities are likely to adversely impact upon the Indonesian government’s international reputation as well as the country’s reputation as a vibrant democracy.

It is not Greenpeace activists or journalists who should be the focus of the authorities, but the companies who are responsible for this forest destruction. We are working to make President Yudhoyono’s recent commitment to reduce Indonesia’s greenhouse gas emissions a reality and the journalists are telling that story.

You can take action at www.greenpeace.org

Related links:

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Activist 911: Death zone in Ecuador

The final round of climate talks in Barcelona began today, and the activism has begun.

The TckTckTck campaign woke up negotiators in Barcelona with alarms clocks this morning, while Greenpeace climbers dropped yet another banner, this time from Barcelona’s famous cathedral, Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, calling on world leaders to
step up their political action on climate change.

From Greenpeace:

The 26 activists are currently in the process of hanging a 600 sq m banner saying “World
leaders: make the climate call.”

Barcelona is host this week to the final round of climate talks before
December’s Copenhagen UN climate summit – this week the stage must be
set for the world to agree a fair, ambitious and binding climate deal.

“A good deal for the climate is still possible. All that is missing is
political will, not least from the US, which under President Obama has
fallen far behind the rest of the world, and is threatening to undermine
a planet-saving agreement in Copenhagen,” said Damon Moglen of
Greenpeace US.

“Negotiators at these talks can only get so far without strong direction
from their heads of state. This is the week for global leaders to make
the climate call.”

A recent Greenpeace analysis of the pending US climate legislation (1)
shows that the bills have been compromised by loopholes and handouts to
the fossil fuel industry and undermine President Obama’s pledge to lead
the world in a solution to the climate crisis.

“Frankly, it’s an embarrassment that President Obama has allowed oil and
coal companies to set the terms of the US response to climate change. If
America is to kick its addiction to fossil fuels and join the
international community in averting a climate catastrophe, President
Obama must put forward commitments in line with climate science and not
bow to political expediency.”
There is now decisive movement from the developing world.  Brazil,
China, India Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea are preparing
to announce strong quantifiable plans involving serious cuts in emissions.

“The time for finger-pointing is over,” said Ailun Yang of Greenpeace
China. “It is clear that right now developing countries are making a
much greater effort to solve this problem – while industrialised
countries seem to be spending more time in downplaying the possibilities
of a good deal than they are in trying to get one.”

“The lives of hundreds of millions are on the line, along with the fate
of countless species, if the climate crisis is not solved now.  Knowing
who is to blame will be of little consolation to future generations.”