May the 31st, 2022 - A Greenpeace Adriatic protest was held in front of a large tanker (SCF Samotlor) headed for the Port of Omisalj, which was transporting Russian oil.

As Morski writes, Greenpeace activists protested recently in front of the SCF Samotlor tanker, which was transporting Russian oil to the Port of Omisalj. They staged a protest ahead of a recently held European Union (EU) summit, urging EU political leaders to urgently impose an embargo on all Russian fossil fuels and speed up the energy transition to renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Greenpeace pointed out that since the beginning of the war in Ukraine back in February, EU countries have spent more than 54 billion euros on Russian oil, gas and coal, which turns out to be co-financing the war still going on in ravaged Ukraine.

Hundreds of millions of euros continue to flow from EU countries into the Kremlin in exchange for Russian fossil fuels, and EU leaders have still failed to impose sanctions that would effectively curb this, what they deem to be an utterly immoral trade. In other words, and in the opinion of those who held the recent Greenpeace Adriatic protect, the European Union is still co-financing the war in Ukraine and such a practice must stop immediately.

''The EU must finally show true solidarity and impose an embargo on all Russian fossil fuels. No delays, no legal loopholes, no special treatment and exemption for any country,'' warned Eszter Matyas, campaign manager at Greenpeace CEE.

The Greenpeace Adriatic protest took place the day before the aforementioned summit, and the European Commission has proposed phasing out Russian oil imports in most EU member states, but not before the end of this year. Some countries like Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria could get even more time permitted. Recent comments from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen show that EU leaders are nowhere near an agreement, Greenpeace warned.

''The humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine will only continue to deepen if a weak embargo is imposed, or if nothing is imposed at all. The war in Ukraine should be a wake-up call for European Union leaders. Security in a world powered by fossil fuels simply doesn't exist. The current ban on all Russian fossil fuels can and must be a strong impetus for the development of renewables and energy efficiency across Europe. It's important not only because of climate security, but also because of its independence from autocratic regimes that trade in fossil fuels,'' said Petra Andric from Greenpeace Croatia.

The majority of oil consumption in the EU is accounted for by transport, while the EU is dependent on imports for as much as 97% of its oil products. A study commissioned by Belgium's Greenpeace offers guidance to those responsible for decarbonising Europe's transport sector by 2040, which could be powered by renewable energy without relying on biofuels. The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently announced that a limited set of short-term transport measures could reduce consumption by as much as 2.7 million barrels of oil per day over the next four months. In Germany, short-term measures could reduce Russian oil imports by about a third, the global organization warns.

When it comes to the Greenpeace Adriatic protest, activists have also held similar protests in Ukraine since the start of the war, calling for an embargo on Russian fossil fuel imports to European countries including Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Greece, Hungary, Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom and Croatia in late March.

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ZAGREB, 30 April 2022 - Croatian Greenpeace activists on Saturday joined in collecting signatures for the European Citizens' Initiative's petition to ban the promotion of fossil fuels and related sponsorships, calling on citizens to sign in Zagreb's main square by 4 pm today or online.

The activists displayed a banner in Ban Jelačić Square saying "Fossil fuels kill people and the climate", and warned about the link between those fuels and the financing of the war in Ukraine as well as about the damage oil, coal and fossil gas cause to the climate.

The ECI petition obliges the European Commission to consider it if the required number of signatures is collected.

Activists believe the long-term solution to both the war and climate crises is a resolute "no" to all fossil fuels, wherever they come from, and turning to renewables for which, they say, Croatia has huge potential, notably in sun energy.

In order to achieve real energy independence, the government must give up fossil fuels, exploit the sun and start to invest in renewables, Petra Andrić of Greenpeace's Croatian office said.

ZAGREB, 19 October, 2021 - Greenpeace activists on Monday held a performance at the site of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Omišalj on the island of Krk where they sprayed the message "Climate Killer".

Petra Andrić of Greenpeace Croatia informed the press of this action.

Greenpeace CEE activists onboard inflatable boats reached the terminal and painted "CLIMATE KILLER!" across the side of the LNG offshore terminal on the island of Krk in Croatia, the NGO also tweeted.

Andrić said that the protest, organised by the Greenpeace activists from central and eastern Europe, was peaceful.

Apart from the national context, also the European one is important, and the environmental organisation tweeted that this action "is a call to EU leaders to move away from fossil gas!".

Andrić said that the activists urged the Croatian government to cease implementing further projects and investments in gas and other fossil fuel infrastructure and redirect those funds into the renewables, primarily into the solar energy resources Croatia abounds with.

The action in Omišalj completed the campaign organised by the Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise vessel in Croatia over the few past days in Croatia.

On Saturday, Greenpeace activists held a news conference in the northern Adriatic port of Rijeka, warning that INA's gas platform Ivana D, which sank into the sea a year ago, was still in the Adriatic.

The Greenpeace boat Arctic Sunrise visited Rijeka again after eight years and over the weekend, the activists collected signatures for a petition by the European Citizens' Initiative seeking an EU ban on fossil fuel advertisements and related sponsorships.

ZAGREB, 16 Oct, 2021 - Greenpeace activists on Saturday held a news conference in the northern Adriatic port of Rijeka, warning that INA's gas platform Ivana D, which sank into the sea a year ago, was still in the Adriatic.

The activists warned that the gas infrastructure was obsolete and called on the Croatian authorities to deal with the problem.

The Greenpeace boat Arctic Sunrise is visiting Rijeka again after eight years and Greenpeace activists will be collecting this weekend signatures for a petition by the European Citizens' Initiative seeking an EU ban on fossil fuel advertisements and related sponsorships.

Along with Greenpeace, the campaign was launched by more than 20 European organisations and its aim is to collect one million signatures in a year, after which the European Commission has the duty to respond and consider implementing the campaign demands into EU laws, it was said at the news conference, held on the Arctic Sunrise.

Greenpeace programme director Petra Andrić spoke about the danger of methane leaks during fossil gas extraction.

She said that the fossil industry had been reassuring the public for decades that its plants were safe but that accidents happened globally during fossil fuel extraction, transport and storage, with frequent methane leaks from gas units.

One such accident happened last year in the northern Adriatic, where the gas platform Ivana D disappeared, with the relevant authorities not knowing for days where it was and what had happened, Andrić said, noting that the gas platform was still lying on the seabed.

Explaining why they were so concerned about natural gas, Andrić said that what was called natural gas should be called fossil gas because it was a fossil fuel.

It is perceived as a transition, less harmful fossil fuel, she said, adding that the main component of fossil fuel was methane, a greenhouse gas with a huge potential for global warming if it leaked directly into the atmosphere.

Greenpeace wants the Croatian government and INA to check all off-shore gas platforms for possible methane leaks and to inform the public of their findings, she said, noting that the government should ban investments in fossil infrastructure in the Adriatic and turn to renewable energy sources, primarily solar energy.

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ZAGREB, 5 June 2021 - World Environment Day is observed on 5 June and this year it is dedicated to the restoration of ecosystems, whose resources are the foundation of the social and economic progress of humankind as well as people's health and wellbeing, Croatia's Economy and Sustainable Development Ministry has said.

Ecosystems play a significant role in the prevention of health crises such as COVID-19 because by destroying natural ecosystems, people have significantly increased the risk of illnesses passing from animals to people.

The ministry says the necessity to protect nature and the environment is also reflected in the fact that, according to the World Economic Forum, half the global GDP ($40 trillion), depends moderately or strongly on nature.

Given that many ecosystems have been irreversibly destroyed and others considerably degraded, our survival depends on the speed of action and clear international community coordination for their preservation and renewal, the ministry says.  

Therefore the United Nations Environment Programme, first with a resolution on 1 May and then with the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration movement, which symbolically kicks off with this year's World Environment Day, has called on all governments, the business sector, the expert and scientific community, and the wider public to prevent further degradation of ecosystems and to ensure a future for the generations to come, the ministry says.

That's why it's necessary to raise public awareness of the fact that humankind spends by the middle of the year the Earth's capacities that should suffice all year, it adds.

Ecosystem restoration, together with transition to a circular economy and a climate-neutral society, can simultaneously prevent poverty, hunger, loss of biodiversity, climate change, and uncertain access to drinking water, the ministry says.

The director of Greenpeace Croatia, Zoran Tomić, has told Hina that it's important to make cities greener and enable them to really recover.

City and local authorities now have the opportunity and duty to launch ecological transition to alleviate the effects of climate change and health crises, he says.

WWF Adria has called on citizens to demand of the authorities to implement concrete nature protection measures and support, through various campaigns, all those who contribute to nature preservation and protection.

Animal Friends Croatia has announced that on the occasion of World Environment Day, it will send all Croatian MPs a brochure on food and the ecology to explain the link between breeding animals for food and world hunger, global warming, water consumption and deforestation.

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ZAGREB, 5 March, 2021 - Greenpeace activists planted ten trees in Zagreb's Martićeva Street on Friday in cooperation with the 1POSTOZAGRAD initiative to encourage local government to plant more trees and to point to the importance of green areas.

The activists brought a three-metre tree prop with the message "Three, four, now!" whereby Greenpeace joined a collective tree-planting week.

They also presented a new Greenpeace initiative called #ZazeleniGrad (For a green city), which focuses on green areas and supports civic initiatives fighting for the preservation of existing and creation of new ones, just as 1POSTOZAGRAD (1 percent for the city) is doing.

"Our cities, including Zagreb, lack greenery. This has become especially evident in the current circumstances, when we feel a stronger need to stay outdoors and in nature. We wish to encourage a stronger development of the so-called green infrastructure, which contributes to biodiversity, reduces the effect of urban heat islands, ensures shade, reduces stress and generally improves people's psychophysical condition," said Ivan Gregov, leader of the #ZazeleniGrad campaign.

The local elections in May will be an opportunity to prioritise green areas in cities, he added.

ZAGREB, May 17, 2019 - Greenpeace activists have put linen bags on monuments throughout Croatia bearing messages about the excessive use of plastic in packaging to encourage consumers to use less plastic and support a petition against the use of plastic bags, which has been signed by more than 40,000 people over the past two and a half months, Greenpeace reported on Friday.

A compulsory fee for plastic bags has been in force in Croatia since January, with the exception of very light bags, which have to be marked "Use plastic sparingly."

Activists warn that due to their poor quality, plastic bags are used only briefly and due to their low price, they are used uncontrollably, which causes damage to the environment. They believe that Croatia will not manage to fulfil the EU directive on plastic bags specifying that the maximum consumption of light plastic bags should curbed to no more than 90 light bags per person per year by 2020, or 40 per person by the end of 2025.

By hanging linen bags on monuments, the activists want to warn that Croatians consume about 200 plastic bags per capita annually, or 830 million plastic bags in total. That amount of plastic could wrap the Earth nine times, they warn.

More news about environmental protection can be found in the Lifestyle section.

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