Highlights
– Greenpeace targets German nuclear plant, British coal plant in simultaneous protests
– Environmental groups are committing a greater frequency of disruptive, illegal direct actions
– European airports, coal energy and nuclear power facilities, will face a rejuvenated eco-activist campaign in the medium to long-term
On June 22, dozens of Greenpeace activists gained access to the Unterweser nuclear power plant in Lower Saxony, Germany. The activists climbed a 60-meter fence and scaled the structure’s dome. The activists demanded the immediate closure of the Unterweser reactor and Germany’s seventeen other nuclear plants, claiming the sties are not secured against a plane crash or terrorist attack.
In the United Kingdom, Greenpeace protesters boarded a ship delivering coal to the Kingsnorth power station in Kent, England while British police reportedly arrested an eco-activist on suspicion of endangering an aircraft. Two weeks ago, anti-aviation protesters also broke into England’s London City airport and chained themselves to a private commuter plane in a bid to disrupt airport operations.
We note that the issue of global warming has lost some momentum in the media in recent months. As conflicting reports over the severity of climate change continue to surface, activists have become hard pressed to bring public attention back to the issue.
We assess anti-climate change groups will increasingly stage high profile, controversial direct actions to keep the debate on global warming fresh in the media and relevant in the public political discussion. While most direct actions are peaceful in nature, we remain concerned that European airports, coal energy and nuclear power facilities will face a rejuvenated eco-activist campaign in the coming months.
Direct Actions
The latest surge of eco-extremist activity underscores the relentless nature of eco-extremist campaigns. A majority of the actions targeting the airline and energy industries are mostly disruptive in nature, yet we have identified several recent incidents of vandalism targeting German scientists in the field of pharmaceutical research, and another threat of violence directed at the owner of a large power station in Australia.
Recent notable direct actions include:
• June 22, 2009: Greenpeace protesters board a ship delivering coal to the Kingsnorth power station in Kent, England. The Kingsnorth station remains a controversial debate as E.ON announced plans to rebuild a bigger facility at the site. More than 1,500 demonstrators attended a climate change event in August 2008 to organize against the plant’s renovation.
• June 14, 2009: Earth Liberation Front (ELF) sends a threatening letter to the Director of the Hazelwood Power Station in Victoria, Australia, threatening to attack the director’s home property if the plant does not adopt better operating standards to help the environment.
• June 10, 2009: Plane Stupid activists cut through perimeter fencing located at London City Airport’s west end and chained themselves to the wheel of a private jet. Police cut the chains and arrested the individuals five hours later.
• May 16, 2009: Anti-aviation activists launched a peaceful protest at various European airport hubs including Frankfurt, Germany and London, England.
• April 2009: Animal rights extremists commit a series of vandalism attacks against the homes of pharmaceutical researchers and senior company executives in Dusseldorf, Germany.
• January 2009: Canadian police suspect eco-extremist involvement in an arson attack against the home of the former Chief Operating Officer of the Canadian company Syncrude in Edmonton.
• December 2008: Environmental activist breaches Kingsnorth power station by climbing over a razor-wired, electrified security fence. The activist damages a computer panel and crashes a giant 500MW turbine.
Outlook
We remain concerned that groups such as Greenpeace and other more radical environmental activists, namely ELF, are raising the stakes in their actions. Consequently, we will likely see greater preemptive police action targeting suspected group direct action – similar to the April pre-dawn raids that resulted in the arrests of 100 people suspected of planning to storm a coal-fired power station in Nottinghamshire, England.
Elements within anti-climate change groups are perceived as more of a threat to airport or energy operation continuity, rather than a direct threat to passengers, airport security, or energy facilities and employees. Nevertheless, the latest series of successful security breaches against advanced security systems sets a dangerous precedent. We remain concerned that the examples set by some more radical groups constitute strong case studies for other activists potentially looking to target airports or power plants with malicious acts or terrorist attacks in the long-term.
