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Greenpeace calls for European ban on fossil fuel ads during Shell refinery blockade

Environmentalist organization compares gas company sponsorships to tobacco promotion

Toby Sterling, Reuters
Oct 04, 2021  •  October 4, 2021  •  1 minute read  •  Join the conversation
Activists of the environmental NGO Greenpeace climb a storage tank to glue posters during an action at the Dutch oil company Shell's refinery at the Pernis site in the port of Rotterdam on October 4, 2021, calling for an European Union ban on fossil fuel advertising.
Activists of the environmental NGO Greenpeace climb a storage tank to glue posters during an action at the Dutch oil company Shell's refinery at the Pernis site in the port of Rotterdam on October 4, 2021, calling for an European Union ban on fossil fuel advertising. Photo by Kenzo Tribouillard /Getty

Dozens of Greenpeace activists in Rotterdam port used a ship, buoys, and a small flotilla of kayaks on Monday to block traffic around Shell’s Pernis refinery, Europe’s largest, as part of a campaign seeking a ban on fossil fuel advertising.

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Police ended the blockade after several hours and the port’s authority said economic disruption to the wider harbor was minimal.

The action comes as Greenpeace and more than 20 other environmental groups began seeking a million signatures for a European Union-wide ban on adverts and sponsorships by oil and gas companies, comparing them to harmful tobacco promotions.

“The EU has already introduced a directive banning cross-border tobacco advertising and sponsorships,” Greenpeace said in a statement issued in the run-up to the COP26 U.N. climate conference in Glasgow. “Now it’s time for a similar law against fossil fuel industries for the health of the planet and our future.”

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More than 20 environmental groups are backing the Ban Fossil Fuel Ads campaign , including Global Witness, Friends of the Earth and Avaaz.

In Rotterdam, the 33 meter-long vessel The Beluga anchored at the entrance of the “Tweede Petroleumhaven,” Shell’s section of the port, to block traffic, while activists scaled an oil tank.

Shell spokesman Marc Potma said in reaction that the company opposes Greenpeace’s view but supports the group’s right to protest — however, not in this case, as it posed safety risks.

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  1. Activists of the environmental NGO Greenpeace take part in an action blocking the port of Dutch oil company Shell's refinery on Pernis site in Rotterdam, on October 4, 2021.
    Activists of the environmental NGO Greenpeace take part in an action blocking the port of Dutch oil company Shell's refinery on Pernis site in Rotterdam, on October 4, 2021. Photo by Kenzo Tribouillard /Getty
  2. Activists of the environmental NGO Greenpeace try to stop a police ship as they block the port of Dutch oil company Shell's refinery on Pernis site in Rotterdam on October 4, 2021, during an action calling for an European Union ban on fossil fuel advertising.
    Activists of the environmental NGO Greenpeace try to stop a police ship as they block the port of Dutch oil company Shell's refinery on Pernis site in Rotterdam on October 4, 2021, during an action calling for an European Union ban on fossil fuel advertising. Photo by Kenzo Tribouillard /Getty
  3. Activists of the environmental NGO Greenpeace climb a storage tank to hang a banner and glue posters during an action at the Dutch oil company Shell's refinery at the Pernis site in the port of Rotterdam on October 4, 2021, calling for an European Union ban on fossil fuel advertising.
    Activists of the environmental NGO Greenpeace climb a storage tank to hang a banner and glue posters during an action at the Dutch oil company Shell's refinery at the Pernis site in the port of Rotterdam on October 4, 2021, calling for an European Union ban on fossil fuel advertising. Photo by Kenzo Tribouillard /Getty
  4. Activists of the environmental NGO Greenpeace climb a storage tank to glue posters during an action at the Dutch oil company Shell's refinery at the Pernis site in the port of Rotterdam on October 4, 2021, calling for an European Union ban on fossil fuel advertising.
    Activists of the environmental NGO Greenpeace climb a storage tank to glue posters during an action at the Dutch oil company Shell's refinery at the Pernis site in the port of Rotterdam on October 4, 2021, calling for an European Union ban on fossil fuel advertising. Photo by Kenzo Tribouillard /Getty

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As part of the campaign, Greenpeace published a study of advertisements on social media by Shell, Total, Preem, Eni, Repsol and Fortum over an 18-month period that found in 63 per cent of the ads the companies sought to highlight their environmentalist credentials.

Greenpeace dismissed such ads as “greenwashing,” given that the companies remain among the largest emitters of greenhouse gases.

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