More than 80 activists from 12 EU countries used fossil fuel ads from all over Europe to block the entrance to Shell’s refinery in the port of Rotterdam.
The protest comes as over 20 organisations launched a European Citizens’ Initiative campaign today, calling for a new law that bans fossil fuel advertising and sponsorship in the European Union.
Lead organiser of the European Citizens’ Initiative, Greenpeace EU climate and energy campaigner Silvia Pastorelli, said:
We’re blocking Europe’s largest oil refinery with the very same ads that the fossil fuel industry use to deceive the public about their responsibility for climate breakdown
Greenpeace’s 33-metre-long sailing ship Beluga II dropped anchor at the entrance to Shell’s refinery. Activists in kayaks, canoes and inflatable boats formed a second blockade on the water. Another group built a barrier on the water with fossil fuel ads, collected by volunteers across Europe, attached to 22 huge floating cubes. Meanwhile, nine climbers scaled a 15-metre oil storage tank and attached ads next to Shell’s logo.
The European Citizens’ Initiative that Greenpeace is urging people to sign – “Ban Fossil Fuel Advertising and Sponsorships” – proposes a ban on any advertisement or sponsorship in the European Union by companies selling fossil fuels, vehicles running on fossil fuels, and flights or ferries that run on fossil fuels.
Furthermore, analysis published by Greenpeace Netherlands found that an average of 63% of fossil fuel companies’ advertisements were:
Misleading consumers by failing to accurately reflect the companies’ business and promoting false solutions such as fossil gas as clean energy alternatives.
The research, conducted by the journalists at DeSmog, assessed over 3,000 adverts published on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube since the launch of the European Green Deal, from December 2019 to April 2021.
The six companies analysed were Shell, Total Energies, Preem, Eni, Repsol and Fortum. Only 16% of the advertisements analysed were explicitly for fossil fuel products, despite the fact that this is the majority business of all six companies.
