This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jul/11/greenpeace-activists-climb-london-shard
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Greenpeace activists attempt to climb London's Shard | Greenpeace activists attempt to climb London's Shard |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A group of activists from Greenpeace was on Thursday attempting to climb the Shard, the tapered 310m glass tower next to London Bridge station, as a protest against oil and gas drilling in the Arctic. | A group of activists from Greenpeace was on Thursday attempting to climb the Shard, the tapered 310m glass tower next to London Bridge station, as a protest against oil and gas drilling in the Arctic. |
| In an action that was perhaps inevitable at some point following the completion last year of western Europe's tallest building, visible across much of central London, the six climbers began their ascent in the early hours of the morning. | In an action that was perhaps inevitable at some point following the completion last year of western Europe's tallest building, visible across much of central London, the six climbers began their ascent in the early hours of the morning. |
| The Twitter feed for Greenpeace UK carried a photograph of the activists, all women, in their climbing gear before they began the protest, naming them as Sabine, Sandra, Victoria, Ali, Wiola and Liesbeth. The organisaton also carried a blog post from one of the climbers, Victoria, explaining her motivation. | |
| Another tweet read: "Look up London. We're attempting to scale the Shard, Europe's tallest skyscraper." | Another tweet read: "Look up London. We're attempting to scale the Shard, Europe's tallest skyscraper." |
| A picture with that tweet appeared to show the group using ladders to gain access to the bottom of the 72-storey office and residential block from the roof of London Bridge station. A live webcam was following their progress up the tower. | A picture with that tweet appeared to show the group using ladders to gain access to the bottom of the 72-storey office and residential block from the roof of London Bridge station. A live webcam was following their progress up the tower. |
| BREAKING: Look up London. We're attempting to scale the Shard, Europe's tallest skyscraper. More soon on #iceclimb pic.twitter.com/WCzFlIPd6t | |
| — Greenpeace UK (@GreenpeaceUK) July 11, 2013 | |
In a later statement, Greenpeace said the Shard was chosen because it was in sight of the three London bases of the energy giant Shell, which is involved in offshore drilling in the Arctic. When the climbers reached the top of the building they aimed to "hang a huge work of art that captures the beauty of the Arctic", it added. | |
| The statement continued: "Shell is leading the oil companies' drive into the Arctic, investing billions in its Alaskan and Russian drilling programmes. A worldwide movement of millions has sprung up to stop them, but Shell is refusing to abandon its plans." | |
| A Metropolitan police spokesman said: "We were called at 4.20am today to a group of protesters attempting to climb up the Shard. We are in attendance and monitoring the situation along with British transport police." | A Metropolitan police spokesman said: "We were called at 4.20am today to a group of protesters attempting to climb up the Shard. We are in attendance and monitoring the situation along with British transport police." |
| Sabine & @victohenry clinging on as they attempt #iceclimb << pls keep your support coming. pic.twitter.com/m9R1asDKD1 | |
| — Greenpeace UK (@GreenpeaceUK) July 11, 2013 | |
A spokesman for the building, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, said: "The Shard is being used by protesters as part of a campaign. Our primary focus is on the safety of the protesters and the workers and visitors to the building. We are working with the relevant authorities to try to ensure the safety of those concerned." |