40 Greenpeace activists have protested against Woodside and its key German customer Uniper at Uniper’s headquarters in Düsseldorf, Germany, calling for Uniper to stop buying Woodside’s gas due to the threat its Burrup Hub poses to oceans and the climate.

Protest at Uniper Headquarters in Düsseldorf
Greenpeace activists hang a banner that reads “NO NEW GAS” and “GAS ZERSTÖRT” (GAS DESTROYS) from the roof of the headquarters of the energy company Uniper in Düsseldorf. Others hold banners that read “SAY NO TO WOODSIDE’S DIRTY GAS!”. The activists protest against the destructive fossil gas projects of the company Uniper partner Woodside plans to lay over 1300 kilometers of pipelines off the west coast of Australia and exploit fossil gas in the Burrup Hub project. Along with RWE, Uniper is the main customer from what is currently Australia’s most climate-damaging project. The project endangers marine protected areas and the migration routes of whales and sea turtles. The planned drilling at a depth of around 900 meters is being prepared with underwater sound cannons, the enormous volume of which can have deadly consequences for whales and other endangered species.

Greenpeace Germany activists hung a 150 square metre banner with the slogan “Gas destroyed” (Gas Zerstört) and “No New Gas”. A huge 15-metre-wide billboard displayed in front of Uniper HQ referenced its relationship with Woodside, reading: “Uniper – Whales suffer at state expense”. 

Activists also played whale songs and underwater seismic blasting in the atrium. 

The protest comes in the wake of Woodside losing a court case brought by First Nations woman Raelene Cooper. A Federal court judge ruled last week that Raelene Cooper was not properly consulted on Woodside’s plans to seismic blast in whale habitat off the coast of Exmouth, Western Australia.

“The eyes of the world are on Woodside – there’s nowhere for it to hide. People across the world care about Australia’s precious wildlife and oceans, and they don’t want to see them harmed by Woodside’s dirty gas,” Greenpeace Australia Pacific senior campaigner Richard George said.

Woodside’s reckless attitude to our oceans and climate will drive away its customers, leaving the Burrup Hub a costly and destructive white elephant.”

Greenpeace Australia Pacific is calling on Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to protect Australia’s oceans by stopping the next phase of the Burrup Hub – the North West Shelf extension and Browse.

Greenpeace Germany is demanding Uniper withdraw from the purchase agreements with Woodside. 

“It is not acceptable that a German state-owned company contributes with its reckless business to destroying a unique marine area with whales, sea turtles and sensitive coral reefs,” Greenpeace ocean expert Franziska Saalmann said.

“Now is the moment for Uniper to stop its destructive gas plans and thus remove the financial basis for this project.”

Woodside plans to lay over 1,300 kilometres of pipelines off the west coast of Australia for fossil gas. Along with RWE, Uniper is Woodside’s main customer in Germany. 

The Burrup Hub will spew out more than six billion tonnes of carbon emissions in its lifetime until 2070, and its fossil fuel gas will condemn Australia to more floods, fires and droughts.  

—ENDS—

Photos and vision can be found here.