Greenpeace activists slip through Davos tight security to stage climate protest
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Greenpeace protesters holding a banner in the Congress Centre during the World Economic Forum meeting in Switzerland on Jan 21.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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DAVOS, Switzerland – Greenpeace activists evaded the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) tight security checks on Jan 21, staging a brief climate change protest outside the main hall of the annual meeting in Davos.
Dressed up in dark suits and white shirts, three protesters made it into the Congress Centre and scaled a balcony. Two then unfurled a large banner saying: “Tax the super-rich. Fund a just and green future.”
Security staff intervened and escorted the protesters away, shortly before the official opening ceremony and a speech by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“The three activists have been taken away from the scene,” Greenpeace activist Clara Thompson later said by telephone. Asked how they had got inside the security cordon, Ms Thompson said: “They had their ways and means, I can’t say any more.”
The message to business and political leaders attending the meeting in Switzerland echoed another protest by Greenpeace on Jan 20, during which activists blocked the Davos heliport.
Security is tight for the WEF meeting, where one of the main themes for discussion this week is “safeguarding the planet”.
The WEF said on its 2025 programme that it is “crucial for businesses, governments, and civil society to work together to find common solutions and take decisive action”.
Demonstrators protesting over fossil fuel subsidies had also on Jan 20 splattered paint green on the shop front where Amazon has set up a temporary base on the main street. REUTERS
