Action against Northstar Oil Project at BP Meeting in London

Greenpeace members dressed as polar bears delivered a shareholder resolution to the company’s London headquarters in january 2000.
The campaign focused on the inconsistency between BP’s acknowledgment of global warming on one hand and the company’s plans to expand its operations in environmentally sensitive regions. Specifically, the resolution asked BP to:

Cancel any plans for oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, Halt investment in Northstar, the first oil project in the Arctic Ocean off the coast of Alaska, and Redirect capital to BP Solarex, BP’s solar power subsidiary, to increase substantially its solar manufacturing capacity.

At BP’s April 13, 2000 annual meeting the resolution – in a virtually unprecedented revolt by shareholders of the UK company – gained 13% of the vote. Shaken by the high tally, BP later indicated that it would consider a massive expansion of its renewable energy program.

During the meeting, Greenpeace is calling on BP Amoco to abandon its Northstar Project, the first offshore oil production facility in the Arctic Ocean.