TL: GREENPEACE BUSINESS
SO: GREENPEACE UK, (GP)
DT: October/November 1997

INDEX

* Government and Industry Conspiracies will not Halt Climate
Change
* 'No New Oil' campaign
* UK Halts Dumping at Sea
* Play Safe - Don't Buy PVC Toys
* Offshore Oil Industry Image Problems
* UNEP Award For 'Greenfreeze' Fridges
* Dramatic Cost Cuts for Solar Power
* Scientific Risk and GMOs
* UK Cancels PVC Dome Covering
* News Briefs
* Credits

GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY CONSPIRACIES WILL NOT HALT CLIMATE
CHANGE

According to a letter written by UK Government minister John
Battle, a conspiracy between government departments and the oil
industry has been operating over the last few months to stifle
debate on climate change. In the letter he says: 'Early this
year it was agreed the Government should respond to any
Greenpeace activities in a low key manner in order to avoid
media opportunities for Greenpeace. This strategy was agreed
with industry and other Government Departments.' Companies were
also advised by the government to exercise the legal powers they
had.

In marked contrast Dr George Watkins, Chairman of Conoco, said
at a recent conference: 'Industry must stop behaving as if
Greenpeace doesn't exist on the ludicrous pretext that we might
give them the oxygen of publicity.'

During the last few months, Greenpeace has been campaigning
internationally to halt exploration for new oil. Every action -
the occupation of Rockall in the Atlantic Frontier, the
interruption of seismic data ships or the boarding of BP's Stena
Dee oil platform - has been designed to force oil
companies to reconsider the strategic relevance of new oil
exploration activities and to make governments rethink their
licensing of new fossil fuels. This is necessary to halt climate
change.

Companies such as NAM in Holland, ARCO in the USA and BP in the
UK can continue to use the law to obtain injunctions against
specific Greenpeace activities - and in BP's case try to silence
Greenpeace by freezing its bank accounts. At some stage,
however, governments and oil companies must begin reacting to
the changes that will be forced upon them by climate change.
Solar sales are beginning to take off globally and BP is
beginning to tentatively expand its solar power division.

Climate change is a classic Greenpeace campaign - a major
international problem that may take years to turn around. But it
will happen. Just as the 20-year campaign against the use of the
seas as a dustbin for radioactive wastes, toxic discharges and
used oil installations has culminated in a recent
announcement of moves to end dumping at sea.

Working to set binding agreements on CO2 emissions at the
December negotiations in Kyoto is the first big step countries
can take to halt the ravages of climate change. Government and
industry conspiracies to silence environmental campaigns are no
way to start the process of creating and implementing positive
solutions to a problem that affects all of us.

NO NEW OIL CAMPAIGN CONTINUES WORLD-WIDE

Greenpeace is calling on John Browne, CEO of BP, to back his
recent statements on climate change with action.

[PHOTO N/A: Greenpeace activists occupy oil platform in Wadden
Sea climate action.] 

Despite threatened injunctions, frozen bank accounts and
lawsuits for damages, the Greenpeace climate change campaign to
halt new fossil fuel exploration and production continues world-
wide. In the last two months, confrontations have taken place
with Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) in the Arctic, Dutch based NAM in
the Wadden Sea and with BP in the Atlantic Frontier.

In the Arctic region, Greenpeace campaigners attempted to block
the USA-based oil company ARCO from moving its huge drilling
structure into place in the Arctic's Beaufort Sea. ARCO,
however, obtained an injunction against Greenpeace in the
Alaskan courts.

Greenpeace also occupied an offshore installation in the Dutch
sector of the North Sea in the Wadden Sea region (an
environmentally sensitive area of mudflats). Nederlandse
Aardolie Maatchappij (NAM) successfully applied for a court
order demanding the group's removal. Earlier this year, NAM was
forced to suspend four of its five exploration and appraisal
wells in the Wadden Sea, while further evidence was gathered for
a legal action by environmental NGOs against the oil operation.
A substantive ruling from the courts on this case is expected in
October.

BP FREEZES GREENPEACE ASSETS

On August 13th, Greenpeace activists boarded the Swedish semi-
submersible oil platform Stena Dee, about 16 miles from the
Foinaven oil field in the Atlantic Frontier. It was carrying
equipment to be used in starting oil production at the much-
delayed BP oil field. While activists occupied the platform,
swimmers placed themselves in the its path. The occupation
lasted nine days.

[PHOTO N/A: Greenpeace's solar survival capsule on side of BP's
Stena Dee oil platform.]

During this time, Greenpeace activists lived in a yellow solar
survival capsule, suspended at the side of the Stena Dee
platform. The capsule was last used in July on the island of
Rockall, where it was home to Greenpeace activists for 48 days.

In response to the Greenpeace action on the Stena Dee, BP began
a L1.4m damages claim for losses. Over L300,000 of Greenpeace's
money was frozen in Co-op Bank accounts. BP also obtained an
injunction preventing any further disruption of BP's activities
at Foinaven. After enormous pressure from the public and other
NGOs, BP dropped its action for £1.4m damages and released the
frozen bank accounts. Greenpeace told the court that it would
not breach any interim edict, which constrains four named
individuals and Greenpeace from physically interfering with the
Foinaven oil field. BP failed to pressurize Greenpeace into
giving wider undertakings.

Greenpeace will continue to oppose new oil exploration in the
Atlantic Frontier and elsewhere.

BP is one of 30 oil companies who have joined with the
government to oppose Greenpeace's High Court action seeking a
full judicial review of the UK Government's licensing of the
Atlantic Frontier oilfields. Greenpeace is claiming this was
unlawful because the Government failed to consider protecting
the cold-water coral reefs under the European Habitats
Directive, and failed to protect the internationally reknowned
sea-birds of St. Kilda islands from the impacts of oil
production. Leave for a judicial review will be heard on
September 26th.

THE FOINAVEN FIELD

Foinaven (operated by BP and Shell), is the furthest advanced of
the Atlantic oil fields. It is also a technology proving-ground
for deep-water, offshore oil exploration. To date, however, no
oil has been produced due to technical problems. According to
BP's Managing Director for exploration and production, the
Foinaven project is running 10% over average costs of $4-5 per
barrel. Independent commentators have estimated the cost overrun
as much greater. Hit by problems, including corrosion of
manifolds and leaking valves, it is nearly two years behind
schedule. BP hopes it will come on stream by the end of 1997.

[PHOTO N/A: Arctic Sunrise next to ARCO's oil platform in
Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.] 

Greenpeace is calling on John Browne, CEO of BP, to back his
recent statements on climate change with action. In a recent
interview with The New York Times, Browne was quoted as saying,
in relation to greenhouse gases: 'It seems to us it's time we
should do something just because there are uncertainties it
doesn't mean you just stand still and do nothing.' In a private
meeting with John Browne in September, Greenpeace called on BP
to accept the carbon logic argument, the inevitable need for a
fossil fuel phaseout over the coming decades, and a commitment
to back the expansion of solar power.

Contact: Sarah North, Greenpeace UK on 0171 865 8212

UK MOVES TO END DUMPING AT SEA

The Government's announcement now provides industry with a
clear, positive and accurate signal about the long-term need to
stop polluting our seas.

In the most dramatic change in marine pollution policy for 15
years, the UK government has announced significant moves towards
an end to dumping of wastes at sea. After 20 years campaigning
against sea dumping - including the Brent Spar protest in 1995 -
 Greenpeace warmly welcomed the UK Government's sweeping
changes. For the first time ever, there is now, in the
Minister's words, a general presumption against sea disposal.

[PHOTO N/A: Greenpeace samples outflow pipe from COGEMA's
nuclear plant at Cap La Hague.] 

Specifically, the UK Government has accepted that redundant oil
installations should, as a rule, be disposed of onland. The
announcement now alignsthe UK Government with Greenpeace's
campaign against dumping the Brent Spar in the ocean.

It was Greenpeace UK's first marine pollution campaign which
forced the British Government to stop dumping nuclear waste in
the Atlantic in 1983. Since then, successive UK governments have
fought to use the seas around Britain as dumping grounds for
sewage sludge, industrial and toxic waste and, most
recently, redundant oil installations. This has earned the UK
the tag of 'dirty man of Europe'.

The Government's announcement now provides industry with a
clear, positive and accurate signal about the long-term need to
stop polluting our seas. (For example, in September, Rodney
Chase, a BP Managing Director, told oil company executives in
Aberdeen: 'On both decommissioning and waste, industry has been
set a new challenge - and one that we must accept.')

GOVERNMENT SHIFT

Following a meeting with Greenpeace in early May, just 10 days
after the UK general election, Environment Minister Michael
Meacher ordered a review of government policy on discharges and
dumping into the marine environment. The results of that review,
announced at an intergovernmental meeting last month, are now in
line with OSPAR objectives to 'protect the seas from the harmful
effects of ionising radiation, to ensure the prevention of
marine pollution caused by radioactive discharges and emissions,
and to continuously reduce discharges of
radioactive substances'. The UK Government is now committed to
making progress to achieve this objective and to ensuring major
reductions in radioactive discharges.

On the issue of hazardous substances, the new objective is to:
'continuously reduce discharges, emissions and losses of
hazardous substances, thereby moving towards the target of their
cessation within one generation (25 years).'

On the controversial issue of dumping redundant oil platforms,
the UK now accepts that the overall goal should be disposal on
land, although it recognises that there may be exceptions. The
UK Government has now moved a significant step towards the
system proposed by Greenpeace, with a blanket ban on dumping,
except for a small number of platforms listed in a separate
Annex.

Under the new UK Government's position, the onus will now be on
the operator to prove that on-land disposal is not safe or
practicable. This is a complete reversal of the previous
Government's position, where the UK was one of only two OSPAR
governments objecting to the current moratorium on dumping
redundant oil installations.

NUCLEAR REPROCESSING AFFECTED

This dramatic policy shift has major implications for the UK's
reprocessing plants at Sellafield and Dounreay, responsible for
the bulk of the UK's radioactive discharges to sea.

On the final day of the OSPAR Convention meeting in Brussels,
the UK and French Governments for the first time made moves to
end marine nuclear pollution. The two countries' nuclear
reprocessing plants at La Hague (France), Sellafield and
Dounreay (UK), contribute over 90% of the radioactivity
discharged into the North East Atlantic region.

Both countries indicated that they would now be willing to
accept continuous reductions in these discharges, with the
ultimate aim of reaching concentrations in the environment near
background values. Final agreements, especially on the 
timeframe for implementation, will be signed at a special
ministerial meeting of OSPAR in Lisbon in July 1998.

The UK also made a commitment to demonstrate to OSPAR how it
would meet its obligations to reduce discharges and stop
pollution from the radioactive substance technetium-99, which
has been building up rapidly in lobsters in the Irish Sea off
Sellafield.

The UK and France also gave up their opt-out on the OSPAR ban on
ocean dumping of radioactive wastes. The decision marked the
final victory for Greenpeace in a 20-year campaign against
radioactive dumping at sea.

Greenpeace welcomed the significant steps taken by the UK and
France. They now move towards the majority of countries who
accept the need to protect the marine environment by ending all
discharges and dumping at sea.

Negotiations will continue throughout the rest of 1997 and the
first half of 1998. A number of important outstanding questions
- especially the time frame for implementation - remain open.
Final agreements will be signed during the United Nations 'Year
of the Ocean' in 1998.

(*The OSPAR Commission is the intergovernmental organisation
that regulates marine pollution in the Northeast Atlantic. Its
members are: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Finland, Norway,
Sweden, Iceland, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal,
Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK, as well as the EU
Commission.)

Contact: Simon Reddy, Greenpeace UK on 0171 865 8284

UNEP AWARD FOR 'GREENFREEZE' FRIDGES

During the 10th anniversary meeting of the Montreal Protocol
last month, Greenpeace received a prestigious award from the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for its 'solutions'
work in promoting ozone and climate-friendly refrigeration
(greenfreeze).

[PHOTO N/A: 'Greenfreeze' production line in China.] 

This was Greenpeace's first 'solution' campaign, designed not
only to highlight an environmental problem but also to provide
its solution. Greenpeace pioneered the use of 'greenfreeze'
technologies in Germany, and through its campaigning has allowed
them to be taken up not just in Europe but throughout the world.
Of the refrigeration technologies on the market, only
'greenfreeze' qualifies for the EU Ecolabel for domestic
refrigerators. Factories using 'greenfreeze' are open or
scheduled to be opened in many European countries, Australia,
Argentina, Turkey and Russia.

The largest manufacturer in China, Kelon, is now producing
1,000,000 'greenfreeze' fridges per year and plans to convert
more to this technology. However, China will not be allowed to
export its 'greenfreeze' products to the USA, which is still
banning the most environmentally sound cooling technology from
its market in order to protect its own industry, which uses
mostly R134 as a coolant. While R134 does not destroy the ozone
layer like CFCs, its greenhouse gas potential is 1300 times
higher than that of CO2.

It is ironic that while the USA is calling on developing nations
to take early responsibility for global warming, it is
preventing advanced climate-friendly technology from a
developing country entering the US market.

Contact: Doug Parr, Greenpeace UK on 0171 865 8240

DRAMATIC COST CUTS PREDICTED FOR SOLAR POWER

1997 production of PV modules will reach a new record in the
112-120MW range. This represents a 25% increase in sales over
last year.

British Petroleum scientists have co-ordinated a report showing
the cost of solar-generated electricity would be cut by 80% if
a large factory were built to make solar modules.

[PHOTO N/A: Greenpeace activists install solar panels on
Ministry of Energy in Vienna, Austria.] 

Solar industry companies and academics were asked by the EU to
estimate the effect of building a plant which could produce
photovoltaic modules capable of generating 500MW of solar panels
annually. Greenpeace and independent solar experts believe that
at production costs of 1US$/w, as shown in the study, solar will
be competitive worldwide.

According to John Harford, strategy and planning manager for BP
Solar International (BSI), solar 'is getting pretty close to
being competitive'. BSI plans to manufacture 50MW of modules a
year by the year 2000. THE Japanese and US governments have set
targets for domestic solar power use by 2010 totalling 7,600MW.
Current demand, however, is only about 20MW a year. The leading
solar producing company in Japan, Kyocera, aims to increase
photovoltaic module capacity at its largest factory to 60MW.

SOLAR EXPANSION

BP Solar has announced that IT IS planning to invest $15-$20m
per year up to 2010 and IS 'considering options to accelerate
the business considerably beyond this.' That IS the equivalent
of adding around 10MW of solar production per year. Production
expansion will probably occur in Australia and Spain initially.

In Australia, BP Solar, the country's largest photovoltaic
manufacturer, has won the contract to supply solar photovoltaic
energy systems for the Sydney Athletics Village for the Olympic
Games in 2000. The contract, awarded by Pacific Power, is for
the supply and installation of 500 systems initially. There will
be a total of 665 systems in the Olympic village, each producing
peak output of 1Kw, and they will be integrated with the roofs
of the permanent houses at the Athletes' Village. It is expected
that solar electricity generation at the site will begin as
early as next April. The Athletes' Village will become the
world's largest solar suburb, according to BP Solar. The
original plans for the village were backed by Greenpeace.

According to Photovoltaic Insiders Report, 1997 production of PV
modules will reach a new record in the 112-120MW range. This
represents a 25% increase in sales over last year. All
photovoltaic products on the production line are being sold and
new capacity is coming onstream world-wide. The outlook for the
immediate future remains strong. Demand will continue in Japan,
the USA and Europe, where various incentive programmes exist.

New details are emerging of the USA Million-Roofs programme.
Several existing programmes will be utilised, including:
accelerating the government purchase of solar systems for
federal buildings; and federal grant and lending programmes. By
2010, a million solar roofs will reduce CO2 emissions annually
by the amount now produced by 850,000 cars. They will have the
same electricity generating capacity as between three and five
coal fired plants. Seventy thousand new high-technology jobs
will be created and US companies will remain competitive with
European and Japanese PV producers.

The Greek Ministry of Energy also recently announced new grants
worth over $125m for companies involved in developing energy
saving and renewable energy applications.

Contact: Marcus Rand, Greenpeace UK on 0171 865 8218

SCIENTIFIC RISK AND GMOS: ANOTHER BSE CRISIS IN THE MAKING?

In these circumstances it is right to ask whether genetic
engineering in the environment is really necessary. Greenpeace
says 'no' - whether they agree or not, public, scientists,
politicians and all responsible business people should pause to
question what risks are being taken in their name.

Does society really understand the effects of genetic
engineering and the potential risks to humans and animals? Or
are we making the same mistakes which led to the BSE
contaminated beef crisis? Two newly published Greenpeace reports
provide support for the argument that the introduction of
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is loaded with 
scientific uncertainty and potential dangers.

From BSE to Genetically Modified Organisms outlines striking
similarities between the risks from BSE and those from GMOs. In
both cases, there is a potentially long time lapse before
problems can be identified, an irreversible impact and
scientific uncertainty about the damage they can cause. Yet
safety approvals for the marketing and growing of new GMO crops
are becoming routine in Europe.

Even the current proposal for a Food Standards Agency in the UK
will fail to address the central lesson of the BSE crisis -which
was caused by a negligent decision-making process, UNABLE TO
cope with scientific uncertainty.

The second report, Genetic Engineering: Too Good to go Wrong?,
gives details of a dozen incidents involving GMOs which have
gone badly wrong. Far from resulting in better crops and farm
animals or improved human health, these experiments have
produced:

* genetically engineered bacteria (GEB) which unexpectedly
killed beneficial soil fungi
* GEB which became toxic to plants or survived when they weren't
expected to
* genetically engineered crops which carry new allergy problems
* farm animals with genetically engineered growth hormone which
have lameness, heart disease, ulcers, arrested sexual
development, kidney failure and other diseases
* GEB which have escaped into sewers through human error and 
unanticipated pathways

These incidents involving genetic engineering experimentation
reveal that things will inevitably go wrong against all the best
predictions. 'Science' cannot make genetic engineering 'safe'.
Politicians and businesses are expecting too much of 'science'.
It is being asked to do the impossible.

What is an acceptable risk is a matter of opinion - a matter of
judgement, not a technical question. People rely on government
to control industry and 'make things safe' by avoiding
unnecessary risks altogether, looking for a safer alternative
where they appear and minimising risks which are unavoidable.

Yet governments are so keen to develop genetic engineering that
they are prepared to change definitions to 'eliminate ' risks by
semantics. This is despite real scientific uncertainties and
potential hazards which may be irreversible and uncontainable
once released into the environment. (Greenpeace, however, does
not oppose the principle of 'contained use' of genetic
engineering, as in the majority of medical applications, so long
as these applications are properly contained.)

In these circumstances it is right to ask whether genetic
engineering in the environment is really necessary. Greenpeace
says 'no' - whether they agree or not, public, scientists,
politicians and all responsible business people should pause to
question what risks are being taken in their name.

Contact: For copies of the two reports, call Ian Taylor,
Greenpeace UK on 0171 865 8247.

UK MILLENNIUM DOME CANCELS PVC COVERING

Greenpeace has been looking at solutions to the problem of using
PVC in the fabric of the dome since the end of last year.

In response to Greenpeace campaigning, THE UK authorities have
agreed to cancel the contract to install a PVC covering over the
Millennium dome project scheduled for completion in 2000.
Instead, the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) has chosen
an alternative material, PTFE (commonly known as
Teflon). PTFE was not one of Greenpeace's chosen solutions to
the problem of using a toxic PVC coated fabric, but one main
benefit is that it will have a much longer life than PVC.

This will change the whole concept of the dome - from being part
of the plastic throwaway culture of the 20th century, to being
a permanent part of the regeneration of North Greenwich in
London.

John Sauven, Greenpeace campaign director, welcomed the move
away from a temporary, PVC plastic dome, stating: 'It's time the
Government made a commitment to eliminating PVC from the
specification of all its future developments or purchases. Any
structures built USING public funds should serve as examples of
how to build in environmentally far-sighted ways.' One idea for
a permanent structure is as a huge indoor sports arena, which
could become part of any bid for the 2008 Olympics, as well as
a permanent leisure facility.

Greenpeace has been looking at solutions to the problem of using
PVC in the fabric of the dome since the end of last year. This
effort was renewed after the dome was given the go-ahead by Tony
Blair.

Greenpeace met with Peter Mandelson on 3 July and with Lord
Rogers, the architect, on 24 July. A list of alternative
materials was submitted, but in August the New Millennium
Experience Company told Greenpeace that none could match the
tight delivery deadline required by the building schedule, and
some were unsuitable for the size and scale of the project.
However, one of the solutions put forward, a chlorine-free
coating material, will be on the market next year.

The companies developing this PVC-free technology - Carringtons
Performance Fabrics, Mehler and Du Pont - will be bidding to
supply the fabric for the dragon's tail linking the underground
station, river bus terminal and the main entrance. The material
is based on polyethylene, a plastic with far fewer
environmental and human health hazards than either PVC or
Teflon.

The availability of the new material, developed specifically as
an alternative to PVC, means that PVC need never be used again
in a tensile roof construction of this kind. PVC is being banned
or phased out in numerous other European cities and countries.

After a two-year court battle, the Austrian Supreme Court held
that Greenpeace was justified in calling PVC an 'environmental
poison.' The Swedish Government's Chemical Advisory Committee
has said that PVC products should be phased out by 2007.

Contact: John Sauven, Greenpeace UK on 0171 865 8180

NEWS BRIEFS

RETAILERS TELL PVC MAKERS: 'CLEAN UP OR PHASE OUT'

Two major UK retailers have promised a total phaseout of PVC if
the industry cannot reduce pollution caused by manufacturing the
plastic. On the basis of an independent report by the National
Centre for Business and Ecology, Tesco and the Co-operative
Wholesale Society have decided that while they currently
consider PVC a useful product, its production is environmentally
damaging. The report stated that 'We should not be complacent
about the risks associated with it (PVC).' The retailers now
plan to meet with industry to set emissions targets and
deadlines. If the targets cannot be met they will phase out all
use of PVC - which includes products, packaging and building
materials.

ARCTIC GLACIER AND POLAR BEARS AT RISK

The Greenpeace investigative tour of the Arctic region continues
to document new observable effects of climate change. It has
been discovered that polar bears and their cubs are under threat
due to dramatic temperature rises. Temperature rises are melting
their dens and destroying an essential first step of their food
chain, arctic algae.

In late August, expedition leader Steve Sawyer, aboard the MV
Arctic Sunrise, reported that there was so little ice that he
could not tell the difference between the ocean and the ice cap.
Temperatures have risen by five degrees C in the last 30 to 40
years - a change that would normally have taken place over a
period of hundreds of thousands of years. Greenpeace is calling
for a halt to expanding oil industry exploration in the Arctic
regions. The Arctic tour has also documented the 130 square mile
retreat of the world's largest temperate glacier. The Bering
Glacier, in Alaska, has shrunk by 10-12 km in length during the
past century and its rate of decline has accelerated over the
past two decades.

CELEBRITIES SIGN UP FOR KYOTO

Greenpeace is urging individuals to sign a petition asking the
UK Prime Minister to help 'prevent climate change by stopping
oil exploration in the Atlantic Frontier and investing in clean
energy such as solar electricity.' It also calls for a phaseout
of fossil fuels at the world climate convention in Kyoto, Japan,
in December. So far, over 150,000 signatures have been taken,
including comedians, presenters and members of 60 bands, such as
Michael Stipe from REM, Damon Albarn from Blur, Jarvis Cocker
from Pulp, Radiohead.

Local Greenpeace campaign groups will be touring the UK
throughout the autumn collecting signatures. They will be
accompanied by the bright yellow solar survival pod that was
used during the occupation of Rockall and the Stena Dee oil rig.
Contact: 0171 865 8223 to request a petition.

LEAD ACID BATTERIES POISONING BRAZIL

The continuing illegal shipments of lead acid batteries from the
USA for recycling in Brazil is threatening the health and
environment of the surrounding community according to a new
report issued by Greenpeace Brazil. Investigations reveal that
imports of scrap lead acid batteries are continuing in
violation of Brazilian and international law. Grupo Moura, one
of the largest car battery manufacturers, is the principal
importer despite a national ban since 1994.

1,000 SOLAR ROOFS FOR GREECE?

Greenpeace Greece carried out an action in front of the Greek
Ministry of Development (Energy) in September demanding '1,000
Roofs' for Greece as a pilot project for the overall one million
solar roofs for Europe campaign. They constructed 1,000
miniature solar homes in front of the Ministry. Greenpeace asked
the Government to subsidise 1,000 rooftop PV systems in 1998
using existing European funds. The Secretary General for Energy,
who came to talk to Greenpeace, did not promise anything
concrete but said he would think about the issue. However he did
promise that such systems would be subsidised from the year 2000
when a new funding program would commence.

A Greenpeace delegation also held talks in Brussels with the EU
Energy Commissioner Christos Papoutsis in August. During that
meeting Greenpeace asked him to include a million solar roofs
project plus other pro-renewable measures in the White Paper for
Renewables which he will soon present to the European Commission
for approval. The White Paper will also have
separate sections on wind and biomass, with the intention of
reaching the 12-15% renewable target by 2010.

END CLEARCUTTING OF KLASKISH RAINFOREST

On September 15th Greenpeace called on the British Columbia
government to listen to its Environment Ministry and stop
International Forest Products from blasting a road into one of
the last 12 intact rainforest valleys on Vancouver Island. There
were once 170 large rainforest valleys on the island: the
Klaskish is the 159th to be approved for clearcutting.

FRENCH GOVERNMENT ACTS OVER LA HAGUE

Since the OSPAR meeting in September Greenpeace divers have
returned to the French plutonium plant at La Hague to continue
the campaign to expose the operations of the French nuclear
company COGEMA. The French Environment Minister, Dominique
Voynet, has halted COGEMA's so-called 'clean-up' of its
discharge pipe after revelations that 50kg of nuclear waste
ended up on the sea bed. Voynet also announced that she will
require COGEMA to present a plan on how to stop its nuclear
discharges altogether. La Hague reprocesses spent fuel not only
from France but Germany, Belgium, Japan, Sweden, Netherlands and
Switzerland.

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