More than 50 Greenpeace activists from across Europe have interrupted the opening ceremony of Gastech, the world's most important meeting of gas, LNG, and hydrogen companies.
Greenpeace Italy staged a peaceful protest at the Milan Fair, creating an atmosphere of "climate hell" with fumes and sounds at the venue's entrance, illustrating what scientists say is the fate we face if we continue to burn fossil fuels. Outside and inside the exhibition halls, activists sounded sirens and spread a message of alarm:
"Attention, please! This is not a drill. The climate emergency is well underway. Please do not believe the misleading advertisements of oil and gas companies. Greenwashing means climate hell".
A giant balloon in the shape of planet Earth flew over the area in front of the fair bearing the messages "Gas is green… washing" and "End fossil fuels now!". Activists also hacked the advertising spaces with dozens of posters revealing what the oil and gas industry tries to hide: a grim reality of pollution, increasingly destructive extreme weather events and conflicts over control of fossil fuels.
Federico Spadini, climate campaigner at Greenpeace Italy, said: "We have brought our peaceful protest to this event because for 50 years it has brought together the companies most responsible for the climate crisis. But there is something we can do to put a stop to the influence of polluting companies and the inaction of politicians: ban advertisements and sponsorships of fossil fuel companies, which threaten the right to information and the health of people and the planet."[1]
Silvia Pastorelli, Greenpeace EU climate and energy campaigner, said: "For years, fossil fuel companies have denied the existence of the climate crisis and their own responsibility. When denial became impossible, advertising became a means of greenwashing and distracting the public from the fact that, beyond the fine promises, their main business remains one: extracting and burning fossil fuels. Now more than ever, during an energy crisis affecting millions of people, it is crucial to ban these toxic advertisements that do nothing but mislead consumers and help enrich these multinationals. Without this advertising megaphone, it will quickly become clear that these are just dangerous lies."
GP Italy is calling on European citizens to sign the European Citizens Initiative, a petition that is officially recognised by the European Commission. If an ECI reaches one million verified signatures in the timeframe allowed, then the European Commission is legally obliged to respond, and may consider turning demands into European law.
