Rainbow Warrior sails through Kimberley in protest of fracking

Greenpeace vessel the Rainbow Warrior sailed along the Kimberley coast from May 21 to 22 as part of a protest against fracking projects in the region. Alongside local organisation Environs Kimberley, Greenpeace sailed the Rainbow Warrior in protest of new oil and gas fracking projects in the Kimberley with the crew of the famous ship raising a sign stating “Don’t Frack the Kimberley”. They also called out Buru Energy directly, a gas company that plans to build a floating gas facility off the Kimberley coast, hanging a flag across the bow of the ship stating “Buru Energy - No Floating LNG”. Environs Kimberley strategy director Martin Pritchard said fracking in the region would not be tolerated by the community. “For more than 15 years, we have been fighting gas giants, first Woodside and now Buru Energy who want to rip up the ground, drill and frack,” he said. “They also want to pipe gas to a monstrous floating gas factory, threatening our incredible Kimberley coast and communities who depend on them.” Echoing Mr Pritchard, Greenpeace Australia Pacific head of clean transitions Jess Panegyres said new gas and oil had no place in WA’s future. “It is sobering to hear stories from traditional owners across the Kimberley of the terrible impacts of climate change on country, including floods and soaring temperatures,” she said. “The world’s scientists and the International Energy Agency are clear that there is no room for new gas projects if we want to limit the worst impacts of climate change.” On May 25, several dozen Lock the Gate Alliance members protested outside of Buru Energy’s Annual General Meeting in Perth. The group of environmental advocates displayed signs and handed out flyers to investors as they entered the meeting at the Celtic Club in West Perth and encouraged shareholders to direct the Buru Energy board to divest from oil and gas. Lock the Gate Alliance WA co-ordinator Claire McKinnon said the extraction and burning of gas from the Kimberley would supercharge the climate crisis. “We wanted to make one-hundred percent sure that Buru Energy’s shareholders know how much destruction this company has already inflicted on the Kimberley, and how devastating its plans for gas export will be for the region,” she said. “We must stand up to Buru Energy whose gas plans contradict scientific research showing the world must urgently wean itself off fossil fuels.”