As Shell officials attend Davos, Greenpeace activists shut down petrol pump

Greenpeace activists forced a temporary shutdown of Shell petrol pump near the WEF meeting venue here this morning and called for the energy giant to be suspended from the influential annual global economic meet being held in Davos.

 

The petrol pump was shut down by about 25 activists to protest against the company's Arctic drilling programme off Alaska.

 

Greenpeace said activists from Germany, Switzerland, France and Italy chained fuel pumps together to stop them from operating, and also placed three tonnes of ice on the station.

 

They also placed a lifelike polar bear on top of the ice, and hung a banner from the roof which read "Arctic Oil - too risky".

 

Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo, who is at the World  Economic Forum, said: "The huge risks that Shell faces in the Arctic are bad news for investors, for the pristine environment and for the climate itself.

 

"After a drilling season in Alaska that lurched from one dangerous incident to the next, the company has proved beyond doubt that it cannot operate safely."

 

Mr Naidoo added: "Shell now faces a series of official inquiries and a level of public opposition that seriously threatens its brand.

 

"It's time for all oil companies to take a long hard look at Shell's torrid experience in the Arctic and consider this simple question: is it worth risking our global reputation for this?"

 

Shell CEO Peter Voser is also in Davos for the economic forum, where his company was yesterday given the 'Public Eye' people's award for the world's most unsustainable corporation at a function held parallel to WEF meet in this Swiss town.

 

Greenpeace said that thousands of people from around the world voted in the annual awards.

 

Greenpeace also said that it is "asking the WEF to consider whether destructive corporations such as Shell should in future be invited to Davos.

 

"While the company's Arctic programme continues, Greenpeace believes Shell should be suspended from the WEF".

 

Shell's Arctic drilling programme is currently under review by the Obama administration after a series of mishaps reportedly highlighted the huge risks the company is taking with its Alaskan venture.

 

Greenpeace has launched an international campaign to secure a sanctuary in the uninhabited area around the North Pole and a ban on destructive industry elsewhere in the Arctic.

 

Over 2.3 million people have joined the campaign, including global celebrities such as Paul McCartney, Richard Branson and Penelope Cruz.