Posted by Jamie in Climate Change, Green Leaders | 0 Comments
Greenpeace activists arrested in Belgium
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In Brussels, Belgium, riot police arrested 340 Greenpeace activists for blocking the exits of the building where ministers had their meeting for the climate change funds.
The protest occurred last March 10 at around 11 in the morning just before the US Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Belgium to meet up with Europe’s foreign affairs chief, Javier Solana.
An hour and a half later, the protest transpired.
Immediately, EU finance ministers — who were at the building just a few hours after it started — received reports of the havoc.
The protesters demanded for quick action against climate change.
As discussed by the finance minister, there is no conclusion yet as to how much the budget will be. Although it was mentioned by environment ministers that the cost of climate change would be €175 billion per year come 2020, no final conclusion has been given yet as further studies are being undertaken and officials continue to seek for other options.
EU finance ministers were tasked to make an official announcement reporting that all developing countries, except the underprivileged ones, should practice low-carbon strategies as a pre-condition for financial support.
The decisions that will be done by EU finance ministers are so crucial since this involves Europe’s stand at the historic UN climate summit this December in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Their aim is to make sure developing countries are able to minimize emissions of greenhouse gases while coping with the inevitable impacts of climate change. To promote these funds, Greenpeace is supporting a new scheme that puts a price tag on greenhouse gas emissions and asks rich countries to pay for their carbon flows according to their means and their responsibility for the climate issues.
Riot police and plain-clothed cops surrounded the area together with black armored vehicles, police vans and buses. They gathered in the vicinity to stop the public from seeing the activists block the doors. Since there were locks involved, electric saws were used to break the locks and it took two hours to pacify the activists.
According to Greenpeace, “Our leaders failed to respond to the warning signs of the financial crisis and we are now all paying the price. We cannot afford to let them make the same mistake with the climate crisis.”
Eventually, all activists were released from jail and there were no serious physical injuries reported.
More information on Greenpeace:
- Official site of Greenpeace USA
- Greenpeace concerned about nuclear plant accident in Hungary
- Greenpeace sees biodiesel not seen as major part of Amazon deforestation
