Greenpeace Protests: Emma Thompson and fellow Greenpeace activists explain why they are camped out outside Shell HQ
We spoke to the Greenpeace activists that parked a giant polar bear outside Shell's London HQ
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Greenpeace presented Shell with an unwanted gift on Wednesday morning – a three-tonne animatronic polar bear planted directly outside the oil and gas company’s London headquarters.
It is part of an on-going Greenpeace campaign against Shell’s Arctic drilling, which had been approved by the Obama administration two weeks ago. The environmental group says it is placing the area at extreme risk of an oil spill.
Actress Emma Thompson joined activists from 4am as they moved the giant polar bear from a secret location to outside Shell’s London headquarters near Southbank. As part of the demonstration, Thompson read an original poem penned for Shell bosses.
Watch her performance below.
She told The Independent that it’s unbelievable what Shell is doing in the Arctic.
“They’re proposing to continue drilling until 2030, by which time, if they take the oil out that they want to take out, the Earth’s temperature will have risen by four degrees.”
“By that time all their grandchildren will be facing things that compared to the crises we are looking at now in our lifetime, it will make them look like a cakewalk. If that’s what they want for their grandchildren, then I don’t understand that kind of selfishness.”
Thompson does not intend to stop at just reciting a poem. She is challenging an injunction set by Shell which comes into action on Wednesday at 2pm.
Watch her defiant message.
The polar bear named Aurora is an imposing structure which is the size of a double-decker bus. Inside it hosts six protesters who are locked inside so the polar bear cannot be removed by police.
We had a tour inside the structure.
Alongside Thompson was a long-time activist Audrey Siegl who passionately addressed the crowd outside Shell’s headquarters.
Protests have taken place outside Shell’s London headquarters for the past month. Last week, Charlotte Church performed the song ‘This Bitter Earth’ as part of a month-long series of orchestral demonstrations held outside the building by musicians.
Greenpeace campaigner, Elena Polisano told us about the importance of having public figures and musicians involved.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments