5 Greenpeace activists held

Five Greenpeace activists were arrested yesterday in a protest action to block delivery of coal to a power plant in Pangasinan.

Activists from the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, which is in the Philippines for the first leg of a Southeast Asian clean energy campaign, climbed a crane at the dock of the Sual power plant in Pangasinan and unfurled a banner denouncing "dirty energy."

Thirty others on board inflatable boats raced to a Sual delivery ship and tried to disrupt the unloading of coal, forcing police to arrest a Canadian, an American and three Filipino Greenpeace members, group spokesman Red Constantino said.

"Five of our members were arrested. The action aims to promote clean energy and Sual is one of the five most problematic power stations in the country," Constantino said.

"Coal is one of the most greenhouse-intensive fuels — it is dirty, expensive and damages our climate. That’s why we want investment in renewable energy like solar, wind and modern biomass power for the Philippines," added Athena Ballesteros, Greenpeace campaigns director for Southeast Asia.

The Philippines relies heavily on coal-fired power plants to provide its vast energy requirements. Sual is owned by a subsidiary of US-based energy firm Mirant and was constructed by the French-firm Alstom.

The Arctic Sunrise is visiting the Philippines for two weeks before heading to Thailand for the clean energy campaign.

Another ship, the Rainbow Warrior, is also simultaneously undertaking a similar campaign in the North Sea targeting nuclear and fossil fuel energy.

The campaign is to end in August, in time for the Earth Summit scheduled in Johannesburg. – AFP