Activists intervene in Shell lawsuit
May 22, 2012
Amnesty International and CORE have challenged the UK government’s attempt to block a court case that seeks to hold Shell accountable for its role in human rights violations in Nigeria. Platform supports the coalition of groups challenging the UK government and calling on it to reverse its position. The FT reports:
Draft cover for “The Oil Road” arrives in office – what do you think?
May 21, 2012
The draft cover has arrived for Platform’s new book “The Oil Road”, due out with Verso in September. We’re gathering input from our circles and supporters. Would you pick this up in a shop? What are the three first words that come to mind when you see this cover? Please tweet us @platformlondon or email...
“Heritage called in the cavalry” – investigation reveals oil company’s role in Congo killings
May 21, 2012
Documents sourced by Platform play a key role in a new Corporate Watch investigation revealing how British oil company Heritage triggered a Ugandan military operation that led to six Congolese individuals being killed, including a three-year-old child. The two-year investigation in East Africa exposes a cover-up and raises further concerns over oil extraction in the...
Out in the Cold – new report on Shell’s plans in the Arctic
May 21, 2012
Shell’s Annual General Meeting tomorrow is unlikely to go calmly. The company’s problems range from anger over excessive executive pay to spills in the Niger delta. At this time, Platform, Greenpeace and FairPensions are putting to scrutiny offshore Arctic exploration as a key direction in the company’s strategy. The new report ‘Out in the Cold...
Exploring The Oil Road – Two Platform events in Bristol and London
May 18, 2012
There are two Platform events coming up which explore themes in our forthcoming book The Oil Road by Mika Minio and James Marriott, due out in September. The first event is a talk in the Bristol Festival of Ideas – What if we left the oil in the ground? Taking place at Arnolfini on Sunday 20th...
Tate Modern removes oil from its new galleries
May 17, 2012
What were “The Oil Tanks” at Tate Modern have now been rebranded as “The Tanks” within recent Tate press communications it has been noted by campaign group Platform [1]. It appears that the forthcoming launch of its new space has prompted Tate to remove the word ‘oil’ from the name of its new galleries that are now referred to...
Live With It! a new iPhone app from Shell-apps.com
May 14, 2012
With Arctic drilling imminent, significant expansion into the tar sands and over 50 years of damage in Nigeria, the case for targeting the oil giant Shell has rarely been greater. A new campaign launched this month by Friends of the Earth Netherlands is challenging Shell to clean up its oil spills in Nigeria’s oil rich...
RBS outed for pro-tar sands lobbying
May 10, 2012
Despite vehemently protesting our calculations of £2.5 billion in Canadian tar sands finance 2008-2010, the Royal Bank of Scotland is today reported by Reuters to be closely involved in the pro-Canadian tar sands lobby in Europe.
Standing up to BP: The Way of Water on stage
May 9, 2012
We’re very pleased to host this guest blog by Caridad Svich, playwright of The Way of Water, which you can witness at a reading 3pm this Sunday 13th May for FREE at Rosemary Branch Theatre, London. Over the month of April, over 1000 audiences from Occupy Ashland in Oregon to the National Theatre Institute in Waterford, CT, from...
Get The Shell Out! Friday 18 May @ 7.30pm
May 8, 2012
UK Tar Sands Network, Indigenous Environmental Network, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), Platform, Rising Tide UK, FairPensions, Greenpeace, Shell to Sea and Art Not Oil present: Get The Shell Out! 18th May 2012, Toynbee Hall, 7.30pm Toynbee Hall, 28 Commercial Street, Greater London E1 6LS You are warmly invited to a public meeting in advance of...
Shell admits funding Niger Delta “warlords”
May 2, 2012
I wrote a guest blog for Greenpeace UK today about Shell’s recent statement regarding its financial relationships with militant groups. I’d really like to hear your thoughts on the issue. A recent video published online shows a Shell executive admitting that the oil giant could easily be funding what he describes as “warlords” and militants...
Twenty years ago today: ‘Still Waters’, Day 1
May 1, 2012
May 1st 1992 marked the first day of Platform’s project ‘Still Waters’: a month of street-based actions, walks, talks and art-interventions to unbury the Fleet, Walbrook, Effra and Wandle, three sewerised and one neglected river in central London. ‘Still Waters’ reframed London as a watershed. We aimed to reclaim London’s rivers from their hidden state, create...
