Greenpeace faces £514 million penalty in pipeline protest case
The environmental organisation Greenpeace has been legally obliged to pay nearly $667 million (approximately £514 million) in damages to Energy Transfer, a company involved in the transportation of oil and natural gas pipelines. The verdict is a consequence of the role that the court believes the organisation played in protests against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Wednesday's court ruling in North Dakota is the result of a lawsuit in which Energy Transfer accused Greenpeace of financing protesters who illegally disrupted the construction of the pipeline in 2016-2017, causing material losses, and of spreading disinformation about the controversial investment, located near the Standing Rock reservation.
Found guilty
After two days of deliberations, the jury found the organisation guilty. Their verdict includes, among other things, damages for defamation, trespassing on private property, and involvement in a conspiracy. Greenpeace strongly denies the allegations, calling the trial an attack on free speech. The organisation's lawyers have announced plans to appeal the verdict.
"We’re an advocacy group. We engage in peaceful protest," emphasised Deepa Padmanabha, a Greenpeace lawyer, in a statement to Reuters. She also added that the organisation's role in the demonstrations was marginal.
Energy Transfer's lawyer, Trey Cox, argued that Greenpeace's "violent and destructive" protests do not fall within the scope of legally protected freedom of expression.
"Today, the jury delivered a resounding verdict, declaring Greenpeace’s actions wrong, unlawful, and unacceptable by societal standards. It is a day of reckoning and accountability for Greenpeace," Cox stated.
The Dakota Access Pipeline construction faced significant opposition from environmental organisations and Native American tribes who feared that the investment would contaminate local water sources and exacerbate climate change. The project, which began in 2016, was completed the following year. The Dakota Access Pipeline transports about 40% of the oil extracted in the Bakken region of North Dakota.
