Bristol CoMutiny: Debunking BT's Greenwash
18 September 2009
On Friday 18th September during the Co-Mutiny Repossess the Banks protest, Rising Tide took action against BT offices in Bristol to highlight the link between the BT Pensions Scheme and the giant Ffos y Fran opencast coal mine at Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales. Fake coal was strewn on the floor of one office and walking lumps of coal attempted to enter another. A number of activists were arrested.
We wanted to show the lie to the claims made by BT Pensions Scheme that their investments are made with any regard to social, ethical, and environmental criteria. BTPS own Hermes, an outfit that administers the pension scheme who in turn own Argent - a partner in Miller Argent the developer of Ffos y Fran, one of Europe’s largest new opencast coal mines. This opencast mine is a massive scheme that will blight the lives of people in Merthyr Tydfil for at least 17 years. It is only 37 Metres from the nearest housing estate and is on the edge of a large community. The coal from Ffos y Fran is going to Aberthaw power station which is the biggest polluter in Wales. In 2006 the power station pumped out more than 7.4million tonnes of CO2 and is in the top 5 largest polluters in Britain.
The first Climate Camp Cymru was held at Merthyr Tydfil in August partly to support the local campaign against Ffos y Fran and to highlight the massive development of new coal projects throughout the UK.
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