OSLO: Some 200 climate activists including Greta Thunberg of Sweden blocked Norway’s largest oil refinery on Monday in a protest demanding an end to the country’s oil industry, organizers and police said.
Activists from Extinction Rebellion sat on the road, blocking the entrance to the Mongstad refinery in Bergen on Norway’s southwestern coast, while kayaks and sailboats obstructed the port’s entrance.
“We are here because it’s crystal clear that there is no future in oil. Fossil fuels lead to death and destruction,” Thunberg said in a statement, adding that oil producers like Norway “have blood on their hands.”
The burning of fossil fuels releases planet-heating carbon emissions.
Police said they were at the scene monitoring the situation from around 9:00 a.m. (0700 GMT).
The activists said they plan to continue with a string of protests in Norway throughout the week.
The Mongstad refinery is owned by Norwegian oil giant Equinor, which is majority-owned by the Norwegian state.
The activists demanded that Norwegian politicians present “a plan to phase out oil and gas.”
Norway, western Europe’s biggest oil and gas producer, is regularly criticized for its oil and gas production.
Oslo insists its industry provides jobs and develops know-how, and stresses the importance of guaranteeing stable energy deliveries to Europe.
Equinor has said it intends to keep its oil production in the country stable at 1.2 million barrels per day until 2035, and expects to produce 40 billion cubic meters (52 billion cubic yards) of gas a year by 2035.
Greta Thunberg, activists block Norway oil refinery
https://arab.news/4vuqa
Greta Thunberg, activists block Norway oil refinery
- Activists from Extinction Rebellion sat on the road, blocking the entrance to the Mongstad refinery in Bergen on Norway’s southwestern coast
- Norway, western Europe’s biggest oil and gas producer, is regularly criticized for its oil and gas production
Netanyahu demands Western governments fight antisemitism
- A father and son opened fire on people thronging the famous beach for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah on Sunday evening, killing 15 people and wounding dozens more
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Western countries to step up their fight against antisemitism and protect Jewish communities, two days after a deadly mass shooting at a Jewish event in Sydney.
“I demand that Western governments do what is necessary to fight antisemitism and provide the required safety and security for Jewish communities worldwide,” Netanyahu said in a video address on Tuesday.
“They would do well to heed our warnings. I demand action — now,” he added.
A father and son opened fire on people thronging the famous beach for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah on Sunday evening, killing 15 people and wounding dozens more.
The Australian authorities said the attack was antisemitic, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying it appeared to be “motivated by Islamic State ideology,” referring to the jihadist group that swept through Iraq and Syria more than a decade ago.
On Sunday, Netanyahu accused Canberra of having fueled antisemitism in the period leading up to the shooting.
“A few months ago I wrote to the Australian prime minister that your policy is pouring oil on the fire of antisemitism,” he said, referring to a letter he sent to Albanese in August following Canberra’s announcement that it would recognize Palestinian statehood.
“Antisemitism is a cancer that spreads when leaders are silent,” Netanyahu added during a televised public address at an event in southern Israel.
His words were echoed by Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who urged Canberra to act against the “surge” in antisemitism during a phone call with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong on Sunday.
