WORLD LEADERS: 12 DAYS LEFT TO AVERT CLIMATE CHAOS
Greenpeace shuts down climate destroyer in Indonesian rainforest ahead of critical UN summit
Jakarta, 25 November 2009 - Twelve days before the critical UN Copenhagen Climate Summit, today Greenpeace activists shut down the export facilities of a major pulp and paper mill operated by Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) in the heart of Indonesia's rainforests. Sinar Mas, which owns APP, is a leading driver of global climate change due to its widespread role in forest destruction.
Twelve activists blocked cranes at the port early this morning to stop pulp from being exported and others displayed banners that read: "Forest Destruction: You can stop this", urging world leaders to take strong leadership to avert climate chaos and to provide a global fund for forests (1) to end tropical deforestation as part of a fair, ambitious and legally binding climate deal at the Copenhagen Climate Summit in December. Fourteen activists have been detained by police but four Greenpeace continue to occupy one of the company loading cranes and have prevented it from operating for over nine hours.
"Deforestation is one of the roots of the climate crisis. We are shutting down the exports of one of the world’s largest pulp mills at the frontline of forest destruction to tell our elected leaders that they can - and must - pull us back from the brink of catastrophic climate change," said Shailandra Yashwant, Campaign Director, Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
The Greenpeace action comes as President Barack Obama is attempting to relegate the Copenhagen Climate deal to nothing but a political statement and to postpone critical decisions on a legally binding agreement.
Yashwant continued: "President Obama and other world leaders cannot be allowed to sabotage a strong outcome in Copenhagen because of their lack of political will. Our leaders must agree to nothing short of a fair, ambitious and legally binding deal to avert climate disaster. Significant funds are urgently needed to end tropical deforestation in Indonesia and around the world. This must be a central part of any climate agreement."
Paper giant APP sells its products on the global market in China, the United States, Europe and Australia and supplies many international brands and distributors with paper products including Vogue, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Marc Jacobs. APP, alongside their main competitor APRIL, are together responsible for destroying rainforests and carbon-rich peat soil across Indonesia, including on the endangered Kampar Peninsula, Sumatra. (2) Containing 2 billion tonnes of carbon, the Peninsula is one of the planet’s largest natural carbon stores and a key defence against global climate change. (3)
Greenpeace has been working with local communities from a 'Climate Defenders' Camp' on the Peninsula over the past month to highlight the central role that deforestation plays in driving global climate change. Greenpeace took action in the
area against APRIL on November 12. Since then, both the environmental organisation and the local communities have been under sustained intimidation by the authorities including threats, arrests and deportations. (4) Last week the Indonesia’s Forest Minister, Mr. Zulkifli Hasan, suspended APRIL from destroying the area pending a review of the company’s permits.
Indonesia is the world's third largest climate polluter after China and the US, mainly as a result of the ongoing destruction of its forests and their peat soils. (5) Globally, a million hectares of forests are destroyed every month (6) - that is an area the size of a football pitch every two seconds -- emitting so much CO2 that deforestation is one of the main causes of climate change, responsible for about a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. (7)
Greenpeace Southeast Asia campaigner Bustar Maitar said: "Indonesia is climate change's 'ground zero'. Stopping forest destruction here and around the globe is not only one of the quickest but also one of the most cost effective ways to prevent runaway climate change."
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