OUR PRESS RELEASE (Danish and English Version)

[Kirstie Wielandt]

Dear everyone,

Denmark against Tar Sands - media release READY

I'm delighted to send you our press release about this Saturday's event and our campaign highlighting the very worrying involvement of Danish pension funds in tar sands, see below. Please contact Anders for a copy of the pension funds list mentioned in the release if you would like to see it.

Send us your warm media contacts!

Anders will be pushing this out to media today - please assist him as much as possible by sharing with him any warm and useful media contacts and links you have so we can give this the push it deserves and build some momentum around this cause, his email is andersl...@hotmail.com.

Big thanks and onwards and upwards!

Kirstie

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DANISH VERSION

READY FOR DISTRIBUTION

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Pressemeddelelse

3 maj 2012

Danske pensionsmidler bidrager til øget global opvarmning

De danske ambitioner om at blive CO2 neutrale i 2050 står i stærk kontrast til de mere end 2,5 milliarder kr. som danske pensionskasser har investeret i virksomheder der opererer i den stærkt forurenende udvinding af olie fra kanadisk tjæresand

KØBENHAVN - Undersøgelser har vist, at til trods for at den danske regering har ambitioner om at blive CO2 neutrale i 2050, så har de største danske pensionsmidler mere end 2,5 mia. kr. investeret i virksomheder som opererer i den stærkt kulstof intensive og miljøforurenende kanadiske tjæresand i Alberta, Canada. Dette vil være bekymrende nyheder for det danske befolkning, som har en lang tradition for at have et høj fokus på etiske investeringer.

Lørdag den 5 Maj International Tar Sands Day of Action og 350.org 's Climate Impacts Day. Denne dag arrangeres verden over et stort udvalg af kampagner og events som øge verdens opmærksom på den globale klimakrise. Særligt fremhæves de meget ødelæggende virkninger som olie udvinding af tjæresand har på det kanadiske økosystem, på de oprindelige befolkninger levemuligheder og på CO2 udledningen.

Den nydannede kampagnegruppe Danmark mod Tjæresand arrangerer en dansk Tar Sands Aktionsdag mellem klokken 12 og 15:00 i det centrale København lørdag den 5. maj, startende med film og en workshop for alle interesserede kl. 12 hos Miljøbevægelsen NOAH, Nørrebrogade 39, 1. tv, 2200 København N. Dernæst fortsætter alle mod Strøget for at deltage i en teatralsk aktivitet nær den kanadiske ambassade og en after party på frivillig cafeen Cafe Retro, Knabrostræde 26 i det centrale København.

Thomas Meinert Larsen fra Klimabevægelsen i Danmark og en af ​​arrangørerne af dagen, siger, " Jeg tror at de fleste danskere som har slidt hårdt for deres pensionsopsparinger vil være ganske overraskede og skuffede over, at en meget stor del af deres pensionsopsparinger ligger placeret i virksomheder hvis aktiviteter, blandt andet i den Canadiske Tjæresand, er stærkt medvirkende til at øge den globale opvarmning”.

Anders Lorenzen, en dansk født miljøforkæmper, blogger samt initiativtager til den danske kampagne, men bosiddende i London, tilføjer'' På trods af Danmarks grønne renommé og det faktum at mange danskere er meget opmærksomme på problemet med menneskeskabt global opvarmning, så ved de meget lidt eller i mange tilfælde intet om bitumenholdigt sand (tjæresand); den olieholdige substans med det højeste bidrag til CO2 udledning. Vi ønsker at gøre tjæresand til et emne, der drøftes, og vores vigtigste mål er at øge danskernes viden om det, og vi påpeger, at en række virksomheder og vores allesammens pensionsfonde fortsat bidrager til de ekstremt miljøskadelige tjæresand projekt i Kanada. Vi har brug for offentlighedens hjælp til at lægge pres på disse virksomheder og pensionsfonde for at få dem til at stoppe med at investere i projekter som medvirker til øget global opvarmning.''

Det kanadiske tjæresand
Tjæresand, undertiden også kaldet oliesand, er ukonventionelle forekomster af olie eller meget svær råolie fundet forskellige steder på planeten. Alberta, Canada indeholder de største forekomster af tjæresand i verden, og er vidne til en massiv industriel udvinding af disseforekomster. Udtrækning af tjæresand olie er en ekstremt miljøødelæggende proces, som indebærer at rydde gamle boreale skov, tilføjer en omfattende forurening af den lokale vandforsyning og genererer tre gange mere udledning af drivhusgasser pr tønde udvundet olie end produktion af ​​konventionel olie. Udvinding af tjæresand i Kanada har efterladt store dele af Alberta ødelagt, og dertil følger en massiv forøgelse af Kanadas CO2 udslip.

Danmark mod Tjæresand
Denmark against Tar Sands / Danmark mod Tjæresand er en uformel gruppe af enkeltpersoner og miljøorganisationer, oprettet for at øge bevidstheden om den ektremt miljøskadelige udvinding af kanadisk tjæresand, og den betydningen af danske investeringer i disse aktiviteter. For mere information om den Danske Tar Sands Day of Action den 5 maj og andre tjæresand aktiviteter kontakt venligst dkstoptj...@gmail.com / http://www.facebook.com/DanishStopTarSandsInfoPage.

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For yderligere information kontakt venligst:
Anders Lorenzen
+44 7789008293 / andersl...@hotmail.com / dkstoptj...@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/DanishStopTarSandsInfoPage

Danske pensionskassers investeringer i Tjæresand
Alene de fem største pensionsfonde i Danmark har investeret mere end 2,5 mia kr. i
virksomheder, der opererer i den Kanadiske tjæresand ifølge oplysninger hentet fra
hjemmesider for hver af de nævnte pensionskasser. Listen omfatter selskaber som Statoil, Royal Dutch Shell, BP og Exxon Mobile. Se listen på LINK

EU-direktivet om brændstofkvalitet (Fuel Quality Directive)
EU-landene stemte i januar 2012 omkring FQD (Brændstofkvalitetdirektivet) om at mærke olie udvundet fra tjæresand som mere forurenende end traditionelle former for olie. Direktivet som er rejst af EU klimakommisær Connie Hedegaard fik tilslutning fra Danmark, men afstemningen endte i et dødvande, og en ny afstemning er nu blevet udskudt til at finde sted i 2013.

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ENGLISH VERSION

READY FOR DISTRIBUTION

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Media Release

May 3, 2012

Danish pension funds contributing to increased global warming

Danish ambitions to become CO2 neutral by 2050 stand in stark contrast to the reality that Danish pension funds are investing more than  2.5 billion kroner in companies involved with the the highly polluting tar sands activities in Alberta, Canada.

COPENHAGEN - Studies have shown that despite the Danish government’s laudable ambitions to become CO2 neutral by 2050, Danish pension funds are investing more than 2.5 billion kroner in companies involved with the highly carbon-intensive and polluting canadian tar sands activities in Alberta, Canada. This will be worrying news for the Danish population which have a strong track record on supporting ethical investment.

Saturday the 5th of May is the International Tar Sands Day of Action and 350.org 's Climate Impacts Day, and will see a wide range of environmental awareness events taking place across the world to highlight the devasting impact of tar sands on the Canadian ecosystem, indigenous populations and global carbon emissions.

The newly formed campaign group Denmark Against Tar Sands is running an Danish Tar Sands Day of Action between 12 noon and 3pm in central Copenhagen on the 5th May,  starting with films and a workshop for all interested individuals at midday at the offices of NOAH, Nørrebrogade 39, first tv, 2200 Copenhagen N, before continuing to Stroget for a theatrical activity near the Canadian embassy and an after party at Cafe Retro, Knabrostræde 26 in central Copenhagen.

Thomas Meinert Larsen from the Climate Movement in Denmark and one of the organizers of the day, states, "I think that most Danes who have worked hard for their retirement savings will be quite surprised and disappointed that a very large portion of their retirement savings are being placed in companies linked to the Canadian tar sands, which so greatly contribute to increased global warming. "

Anders Lorenzen, Danish-born London-based environmental blogger and instigator of the Danish campaign, added '' Despite Denmark’s green credentials and the fact that most Danes have a green outlook and awareness of the measures needed to fight what I believe is the biggest battle of our generation - climate change - they know very little or in many cases nothing about tar sands; the highest contributor to greenhouse gases. We want to make tar sands an issue to be discussed in Denmark; our main goal is to widen Danes’ knowledge about it and point out that companies which are part of their day to day, are contributing to the tar sands project. We need the public’s help to put pressure on these companies to make them withdraw their investment.’’

Canadian tar sands
Tar sands, sometimes also called oil sands, are deposits of unconventional oil or extremely heavy crude oil found in various places on the planet. Alberta, Canada contains the largest deposits of tar sand in the world and is witnessing a massive industrial exploitation of these deposits. Extraction of tar sands oil is an extremely environmentally destructive process, which involves clearing ancient boreal forest and contamination of the local water supply, and generates three times more greenhouse gases per barrel of extracted oil than the production of conventional oil. Extraction of tar sands in Canada has left large parts of Alberta destroyed and massively increased Canada’s CO2 emissions.

Denmark Against Tar Sands
Danmark mod Tjaeresand / Denmark Against Tar Sands is an informal group of individuals and environmental organisations, established to raise awareness about the hugely environmentally destructive Canadian tar sands and the role of Danish investment in it. For more information on the 5th May Danish Tar Sands Day of Action and other Danish tar sands activities please contact dkstoptj...@gmail.com / http://www.facebook.com/DanishStopTarSandsInfoPage.

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For further information please contact:
Anders Lorenzen
+44 7789008293 / andersl...@hotmail.com / dkstoptj...@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/DanishStopTarSandsInfoPage

Danish pension fund stats
The five largest pension funds in Denmark alone have invested more than 2,5 billion DKK in
companies operating in the Canadian Tar Sands according to information retrieved from the
website of each of the pension funds. The stock list include companies such as Statoil, Royal
Dutch Shell, BP and Exxon Mobile. See attached LIST.

EU fuel quality directive (FQD)
The EU member states voted in January on the FQD (fuel quality directive) on whether to label Tar Sands as more polluting than conventional forms of oil, Denmark seconded that motion which was initiated by EU climate minister Connie Hedegaard. That vote ended in a stalemate and a deciding vote were scheduling to take place in June but have been postponed to take place in 2013 instead.


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Kirstie Wielandt | Freelance Eco Events & Comms Manager
Ph: 07876573295 | Skype: findkirstie | Twitter: clerkenwellgirl

Join the exciting new campaign to make Ecocide a criminal offence:
www.eradicatingecocide.com

[Derek Leahy]

Beautiful guys. Just beautiful.

We have never had an ISTSDay event or group so determined to research and find out how their country was connected to the tar sands. I tip my hat to you.

Below are instructions on how to upload photos to our Flickr account. From there we will be uploading them to the website and both Push Europe and the Freedom Train will be pulling photos from it as well.

Lastly, a little inspiration/motivation for May 5th. We watched this short doc last year just before we made our way to the Canadian embassy in Berlin for ISTSDay 2011. If you want to do what you are about to do tomorrow for anyone, I suggest you do it for these kids from Fort Chip

http://www.keepersofthewater.com/home.html

Wishing I could be there in Copenhagen with you tomorrow.

GOOD LUCK:)

Derek

Flickr: Easy Upload Instructions

 

Flickr Stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/71527992@N04/

 

How to Email Photos to add to the Photo Stream:

1.     Send email to sip16a...@photos.flickr.com

2.     Only attach 3-4 photos per email. Flickr maxes out on its upload capacity sometimes. One of these should be a Freedom Train solidarity photo (I wrote about this in my blog and previous emails). Choose photos that represented best the kind of day you and your group had. Good quality photos is desirable 

3.     In your email, specify:

a.     SUBJECT LINE: City and then country

b.     EMAIL BODY: This will be the description of your images.  A few sentences about your day.

4.     Allow 5-10 minutes for your photos to upload.

5.     Check the Flickr stream (http://www.flickr.com/photos/71527992@N04/)  to make sure they uploaded.

 

Example Email:

 

TO: sip16a...@photos.flickr.com

 

SUBJECT: Melbourne, Australia

 

BODY: On May 5, 2012, concerned citizens pushed a two meter tall "climate dot" through the busy streets of Melbourne to raise awareness about the destructiveness of the tar sands and other forms of extreme energy. 

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“Only when we understand can we care, only when we care can we help, only when we help can we be saved.” – Jane Goodall

INTERNATIONAL STOP THE TAR SANDS DAY 2012

For information on our 2012 events please see our website and blog. You can also find us on facebook, twitter, and YouTube  

Feel free to contact me at:

Skype: derek_leahy
Email: derek.o...@gmail.com

[anders lorenzen]

Thanks a lot Derek, I know you wont understand it but we now also have a blog: www.tarsandsdk.moonfruit.com

Looking forward to see all the events unfolding tomorrow.

Anders


Environmental Writer and Filmmaker
http://agreenerlifeagreenerworld.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/anders-lorenzen
Mobile: +44 77 8900 8393 Twitter 

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Date: Fri, 4 May 2012 23:06:04 +1000
Subject: Re: OUR PRESS RELEASE (Danish and English Version)
From: derek.o...@googlemail.com
To: danish-stop-tar-sa...@googlegroups.com
CC: em...@350.org