TORONTO – A Canadian is among a group of six Greenpeace activists attempting to scale Western Europe’s tallest building to protest drilling in the Arctic by oil companies.
The climbers, all women, hoped to affix an art installation to the top of the 310-metre tower known as the Shard.
Vancouver native Victoria Henry, 32, has been involved with Greenpeace for five years.
“Since I was a kid I saw the destruction of nature and wanted to shout something from the rooftops. That’s what this is about,” Henry stated on Greenpeace’s website.
According to the environmental group, the Renzo Piano-designed 72-storey Shard was chosen because it looms over the London offices of Royal Dutch Shell.
“We’ll try to make Shell think twice before sending their rigs into the Arctic,” Henry told the BBC before the climb. “It’s going to be really hard work, it’s going to be nerve-shredding for all of us and we may not succeed, but we’re going to do everything we can to pull it off.”
Shell released a statement to the media in response to the demonstration: “We respect the right of individuals and organizations to engage in a free and frank exchange of views about our operations. Recognizing the right of individuals to express their point of view, we only ask that they do so with their safety and the safety of others, including Shell personnel and customers, in mind.”
The Shard released a statement saying it is working with local authorities to ensure safety.
“Our primary focus is on the safety of the protestors, and of the workers and visitors to our building, which remains open today.”
The Shard said it’s in constant communication with representatives of Greenpeace.
“We’ve asked them to stop climbing and come back into the building as what they are doing is dangerous. We take security, health and safety of all our occupiers and visitors to the building extremely seriously. The protestors have gained access in the early hours of the morning through an adjacent building and what they’re doing is extremely dangerous.”
The women began their climb at 4 a.m. BST.
London’s Metropolitan Police Force says officers are monitoring the situation.
–with a file from The Associated Press
Comments