Kiwis must stand up to prevent Arctic oil disaster

27 February 2012

Young Labour supports the actions of Greenpeace activists at Port Taranaki last Friday in their dramatic attempt to stop the Shell oil drillship, the Noble Discoverer, from departing port and heading to the pristine Arctic waters to begin a large scale oil exploration operation.

Young Labour President, Ella Hardy, called on Shell to listen to the protestors' demands and end their oil exploration plans in the Arctic.

Hardy urged Shell to "recognize the retreat of Arctic sea ice due to global climate change as an urgent alarm to the fossil fuel industry, and not as an open invitation to exploit what few oil reserves remain on Earth."

"We must invest heavily in renewable energy now, and not burden the younger generation with that task alongside unprecedented energy prices as world oil reserves are further depleted, and an economy crippled by the effects of climate change on global production" Hardy added.

"The Arctic waters are no place to exploit or pollute - this pristine environment and its magnificent yet highly sensitive biodiversity are global treasures that should not be jeopardized for narrow, short term economic gain. The Arctic, and what vulnerable pristine environments remain on Earth, must be preserved and protected for our generation, and for those generations in the future."

“We join Greenpeace in demanding Shell stop its plans to put the fragile Arctic and its biodiversity at risk” Hardy concluded.

ENDS

© Scoop Media