Finnish state owned oil company Neste Oil is soon the world’s biggest user of palm oil. Greenpeace attended the company annual general meeting yesterday (our activists are shareholders) to raise the issue of the company’s irresponsible use of palm oil. Here’s a video about shareholder Petteri Pykäläinen speaking and being removed from the meeting.

Neste Oil has been unable to answer our questions on their use of palm oil. The company claims that it can track where its palm oil comes from, but has not shown any evidence to prove this. On top of this the company’s supplier IOI Group has just told publicly that it cannot deliver fully segregated palm oil until the becoming summer. Have a look at this slide from their PowerPoint -presentation where this fact is stated.

In the AGM we asked four simple questions from Neste Oil’s management and the chairman of the supervisory board, Heidi Hautala from the Green party:

• How is it possible that Neste Oil has been able to acquire all its palm oil using a system that has not been in place in the industry?
• At the same time, how has Neste Oil been able to acquire most of its palm oil from IOI Group that has not had this segregation mechanism in place?
• If Neste Oil has its own bullet proof tracking system in place, why is it not public so that it’s practices can be audited by independent auditors?
• According to Neste Oil more than half of their palm oil is supplied by IOI Group. From which suppliers does Neste Oil get the rest of their palm oil?

These questions were not sincerely answered in the AGM. Neither was the most important one: When will Neste Oil stop using palm oil as raw material for diesel, as its a false investment and potentially has even worse greenhouse gas balance than fossil fuels?

Pictures from the event where protestors got removed by force.

Maija Suomela,
Palm Oil Campaigner
Greenpeace

As everyone knows, when world leaders run for their private jets, we were not left with a fair, ambitious and binding climate deal, not even a clear decision to come up with one. The world had hoped and expected the US to join the fight, but Obama’s contribution amounted more to sending the resistance some warm clothes.

It is inexcusable and incomprehensible that all of the the world’s significant heads of state together could not muster more than an empty declaration. We were promised 120 world leaders - with few exceptions, we got petty politicians instead.

Good things did come out of Copenhagen, however:

• Acute awareness that countries’, especially developed countries’ current emission reduction pledges are woefully inadequate.
• Recognition that massive amounts of funding and protection of tropical forest are crucial
• Clear message to Obama that it takes more than a change in rhetoric to truly end the Bush era
• Making climate change a head-of-state-level issue
• Vulnerable countries finding their voice
• Above all: a wider, more determined, stronger global movement. The reason why I am truly optimistic after all this are the inspiring and committed people of all continents, all colors of skin, all walks of life - as well as the interest groups from trade unions to development groups and companies - I saw in Copenhagen calling for action. I can’t wait to see what we will get done next year.

To all decision-makers who still drag their heels, I have only one thing to say: Stop wasting your time and ours. You can stand in the way if you like, but you will get run over. You can only embarrass yourself, we can only win.

Lauri Myllyvirta

Neste Oil uses greenwashing regularly in its advertising. Here is a spoof ad I did on one of the company’s ads a year or so ago.

Finnish state-owned oil company Neste Oil has launched a new ad campaign that, once again, resorts to greenwashing. Check out the video (in English) where a Neste Oil employee dreams of becoming an action film hero who saves the world from global warming.

The problem is that Neste Oil’s “green” product is a palm oil based biodiesel (NExBTL). Now, as you might already know, palm oil is a big problem: its use destroys rainforests and accelerates climate change. There are also social and human rights problems linked to its production.

In 2011 Neste Oil will be the world’s biggest user of palm oil. Even though Neste Oil executives swear they are using sustainable palm oil, (which they have been unable to prove), it does not remove the fact that Neste Oil is increasing the global demand for the stuff.

So if you feel like doing something positive today, take part in Neste Oil’s competition and tell them what your dream is (we suggest you put something about Neste Oil developing a sustainable, palm oil free biodiesel…).

Here are instructions for those whose Finnish is a bit rusty:

“Kerro unelmasi” = Tell us your dream
“Minun unelmani” = My dream (Here you can write whatever you want or put something about sustainable biodiesel. They do ask you to put something that can be realised with 10 000 euros, however.)
Click on “Jatka” (continue)
“Mistä Neste Oil voisi seuraavaksi unelmoida” = Tell us what could be our next dream?
(Here you should definitely put something about sustainable biodiesel..)
Click on “Jatka” (continue)
Finally: Fill in your contact details if you want to take part in the competition.
Compulsory questions:
“Etunimi” = First name
“Sukunimi” = Surname
“Osoite”= Address
“Postinumero” = Post code
“Toimipaikka” = City
Click on “Lähetä” (send)

Virpi

Photo Lauri Myllyvirta. More photos on board the Happy Ranger.

Second night on Happy Ranger is over. The night was colder than yesterday but there was no rain and therefore little water on the deck. Everyone got at least some sleep regardless of the conditions. Now we are cooking water to make tea or soup.

We expect to arrive at the port of destination around 1500 CET, along with the steam generators, destined for a dangerous and flawed nuclear reactor under construction in Olkiluoto, Finland.

Things are again calm here after some hard feelings yesterday. A couple of crewmembers are keeping us company on the deck.

During the night, we passed the island of Åland, halfway between Finland and Sweden and in the proximity of Olkiluoto and Forsmark nuclear sites. Finland and Sweden plan to bury their nuclear waste at those sites which would be a serious long-term threat to Åland. No wonder the island has taken a very critical position towards proposed nuclear projects and is a forerunner in developing renewable energy.

Lauri Myllyvirta

Lauri Myllyvirta blogging. More photos on board the Happy Ranger.

Today we have had four new people come on board. Three inflatable boats traveled two hours from the Swedish coast to reach Happy Ranger and the climbers got on board smoothly using the wire ladder we lowered to them. Two activists who spent the last night on the deck of Happy Ranger went back to the shore and to the warmth. The new ones brought new energy and lots of chocolate with them which made us really happy.

The captain of Happy Ranger got very upset because of the new action. He ordered the ship to a halt and called the coastguard, saying he will not tolerate more than six people on board. The stalemate lasted an hour, after which engines were started. The coast guard payed us a visit with a chopper and saw the banners reading “Nuclear madness made in France”, but did not land.

We are in good spirits and expect to arrive in a port near the Olkiluoto nuclear plant tomorrow.

We just had a chat about the Bataan nuclear plant with one of the Philippino crew members, which is also facing widespread public opposition. So far I have met no crew members that would particularly like the fact that they are delivering heavy components for another dirty nuclear reactor. I have told some of them to give me a call if they ever get to deliver wind turbines or other clean energy equipment to Nordic.

I sure hope we can help our decision makers come to their senses so that one day I will get that call!

Lauri Myllyvirta

Video from yesterday’s boarding.

Virpi Oinonen

Photo Lauri Myllyvirta. More photos on board the Happy Ranger.

Greetings from Happy Ranger, the cargo ship transporting heavy components to a flawed and failed French nuclear construction project in Finland, Olkiluoto 3.

Yesterday I and 5 other activists boarded the ship to make this the last dirty nuclear project in Finland and, if possible, in the world.

During the night, we have sailed around the southern tip of Sweden and are now heading north towards Finland.

The night on the deck of the ship can be best described by one term: 8 degree water. It was raining lightly all night and water was flowing on all the structures and making everything wet. When I was woken up for my watch at 4 am, I had a liter of water in my sleeping bag. So our concern number one is keeping each other warm for the next 40 or so hours that the trip should take.

I have now set up a mobile office in a small opening, just large enough for sitting on the floor. It is on the side of the passageway where we have our camp, on the port side of the ship.

Our action, and all the other work that Greenpeace nuclear campaign is doing around the world, is needed because the risks of nuclear power
are so easy to ignore. Much of the harm happens in remote places, far in the future or in unlikely events. Radioactive pollution makes its
contribution to cancer morbidity usually without possibility to link singular cases to the cause. We have in many countries come from one
extreme, in 1970s and 1980, when the risks of nuclear power were often exaggerated, to almost completely ignoring them.

The fact remains however, that during our lifetime we will not get to know how bad a radioactive mess we left the future generations and what the impacts will be over the course of millennia. New reactors like Olkiluoto 3 would make that mess radically worse by producing nuclear waste that is up to 10 times more hazardous than than that from existing reactors.

For me and many others, that is a sufficient reason to take action against an industry that produces 3 percent of the world’s final energy, but almost 100 percent of the world’s nuclear waste.

Lauri Myllyvirta

 
Photo Lauri Myllyvirta. More photos.

As I’m writing this more than three hours after our boarding, things have calmed down. We had most of the crew, about 15 people, around us in the beginning. We explained that we are here to protest against a dangerous and costly French nuclear experiment, not their ship or company. One crew member was quite upset about us being on board and cut a few handbanners in half with a knife, while others took pictures with their cellphones and chatted with us.

We went to meet the captain on the bridge and agreed with him that we would stay in one place on the deck and stay visible for his peace of mind, as well as not point our headlamps towards the bridge during dark hours.

Then we had one crew at a time to keep us company for some time, now we are the only people on deck. We are eating and agreeing watches for the night before we go to sleep. The temperature of the seawater is still 8 degrees celsius, so we are counting on the sea to keep us warm. And we certainly hope our action can help in putting an end to this nuclear madness and make this the last shipment of its kind.

Lauri Myllyvirta