Why Greenpeace boarded a ship and immobilised brand new VW cars demanding the “dirty diesel” vehicles to return back to Germany

Greenpeace activists reportedly took action in protesting the shipping of thousands of new Volkswagen diesel vehicles into the U.K. from Germany.

On 21^st September 2017, activists were said to have boarded a 23,500 tonne ship in the Thames Estuary that contained the new cars by climbing the unloading door and hanging a huge poster of one of the protesters’ children wearing a gas mask with the words “ditch diesel” written over it.

They demanded the vehicles be returned to Germany where they were made.

Activists board ship with VW cars

Some 40 activists reportedly got into the port’s vehicle park where thousands of brand new Volkswagen vehicles were waiting to be distributed to dealers. The lobbyist members reportedly opened the bonnets and placed stickers over the diesel engines with notes saying things like:

“Start repairing your reputation. Ditch diesel!”

“Please do what you can to reduce emissions”

“Please follow the example set by Volvo to stop producing diesel vehicles within the next 2 years. It is for our good!!!”

Greenpeace said in a statement that the messages were from “8,000 people, including many car owners, calling on VW to ditch diesel.” The activists were videoed collecting car keys in huge bunches to immobilise the vehicles.

Support worker Janet Barker who participated in the action explained that:

“Diesel cars are toxic – so we’re here to block Volkswagen imports on behalf of all children who are the most acutely affected by the health impacts of diesel fumes… Volkswagen’s polluting vehicles are adding to a public health emergency harming thousands of people.”

Another Greenpeace activists Bo Ruan spoke out about his two-year-old daughter, Sephie’s, “severe respiratory problems which can render her housebound for a week at a time.” He blames Volkswagen’s significant contribution to the U.K’s air pollution for his daughter and many other children’s health issues. He warns:

“Unless we ditch diesel, we could end up with a whole generation of children with damaged lungs.”

Sephie is the child depicted in Greenpeace’s posters (and used on this blog post) and is part of the organisations new campaign under the new hashtag #standwithsephie.

The police were called to the scene and together with port staff brought the protest to a safe conclusion.

The VW emissions scandal and the impact on our air

The protest comes some two years after Volkswagen was found to have fitted vehicles with so-called “defeat devices” to manipulate emissions testing; something they admit to in America, but are trying to deny here in the U.K. The major car group admitted that 11 million vehicles were affected worldwide, with a significant 1.2 million in the U.K.

In producing up to 40-times more NOx pollution than first thought in some cases, Volkswagen is contributing to dangerous levels of air pollution. In a nation of cities with high population densities, these 1.2 million vehicles are suspected to have caused potentially thousands of premature deaths, some experts say.

Children can be more affected by increased air pollution, especially when suffering with respiratory problems, leading to increased risks of heart disease and even things like dementia with continued exposure.

Response from VW

A Volkswagen spokesman reportedly acknowledged what Greenpeace were trying to do, and maintained that the new vehicles on board met “strict Euro-6 standards.”

The U.K. government recently announced that new diesel and petrol vehicles could be banned by 2040 as part of an initiative to reduce car emissions. Stricter emissions testing will also be conducted in the labs as well as on open roads. However, in the 20 years leading to this monumental change, should these cars be continued to be allowed on the roads and should we be allowed to continue breathing in this toxic air?

Image Credit: https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/latest-photos-greenpeace-volunteers-block-volkswagen-cars-entering-uk/