Equinor møter motstand

Protestene strømmer inn fra hele verden, etter at Equinor har valgt å gå videre med planer om oljeutvinning i et marint verneområde utenfor det sørlige Australia. Besteforeldrenes klimaaksjon lover i sin uttalelse å følge opp protesten på selskapets generalforsamling i mai. «We urge Norwegian authorities to instruct Equinor to abandon their exploitation plans in the Great Australian Bight.»

National Offshore Petroleum Safety and
Environmental Management Authority,
Perth, Australia.

Who we are:
The Norwegian Grandparents Climate Campaign, GCC, was established in 2006 by a group of concerned elders, many of whom formerly held influential positions in Norwegian society. GCC is an independent grassroots organization, funded by its more than 2400 members with regional groups across Norway and run by a Members’ steering-committee.

GCC’s main goal is to ensure the rights of all children to a sustainable future, in accordance with Article 112 of the Norwegian Constitution: “Every person has the right to an environment that is conducive to health and to a natural environment whose productivity and diversity are maintained. Natural resources shall be managed on the basis of comprehensive long-term considerations which will safeguard this right for future generations as well.”

To this end, GCC work closely with like-minded Norwegian organizations including trade unions, church- and humanitarian organizations, and relevant international groups/organizations.

For the sake of our children’s future – leave fossil resources in the ground.

GCC has proved a significant voice in the public debate on the state of Norway’s climate policy at home and abroad, not least concerning the expansive activities of  the 70 % Norwegian state-owned oil company Equinor. At home, GCC are strongly opposed to further oil explorations, particularly in the pristine, environmentally very sensitive waters of the far north and the Arctic ocean.  Equinor ‘s controversial plans to drill in the pristine and environmentally very sensitive waters of the Great Australian Bight  are condemned  by us for very similar reasons. These areas are invaluable and indispensable habitats and parts of Earth.

In order to inform the citizens of Australia that we, Norwegian citizens, strongly protest the Norwegian oil company Equinor’s planned drilling in the Great Australian Bight, GCC placed an ad in two of Australia’s local newspapers (The Port Lincoln Times and West Coast Sentinel) , emphasizing that  we are keenly aware of the devastating effects that oil and gas exploitation can have on the vulnerable and pristine marine environments. Furthermore we wrote: “ As Equinor is a 70 % state owned company, we, as Norwegian citizens, regard it as our moral duty to urge our authorities to listen to the Australian opposition. At Equinor’s Annual General Assembly 2018, the mayor of Kangaroo Island Peter Clements, on behalf of local councils from coastal South Australia, stated: “We do not support your current plans to drill in our part of the world.  You do not have a social license to drill in our home waters.” …  “This is the wrong place for any responsible oil company to operate.”  He urged Equinor to follow BP and Chevrons example and withdraw plans to drill in the Great Australian Bight.”

Regrettably, the General Assembly did not comply in 2018. However, at Equinor’s upcoming General Assembly in May of 2019 we trust that shareholders once again will urge the Norwegian authorities to instruct Equinor to abandon their exploitation plans in GAB. The effects of global warming have demonstrably become stronger since the G.A. of 2018.  Hopefully, the GA 2019 will acknowledge the need to abandon Equinor’s  exploitation plans in GAB.

In October 2018 the UN IPCC presented its most alarming report so far – «Global Warming  of 1.5°C». The report confirms that global warming must be contained well below 2C, therefore the world nations need to cut 45% of global emissions by 2030.

We, the Norwegian Grandparents Climate Campaign, wish to remind NOPSEMA that science leaves no doubt; fossil resources must be left in the ground if we, the nations of the world, are to keep our pledges in accordance with the Paris Climate Change Agreement, and our duty to our descendants.

For the Norwegian Grandparents Climate Campaign,
Steinar Winther Christensen
(Head of Norwegian Grandparents Climate Campaign)

The Great Australian Bight er tilholdssted for 36 typer delfin og hval. Bukta er også landets viktigste område for sjøløver, sel, spekkhogger, kjempeblekksprut, hvithai og noen av landets største fiskerinæringer.