Greenpeace activists climb power plant in ‘peaceful’ protest

Greenpeace activists on Wednesday climbed the cooling tower at Greece’s biggest coal-fired power station in Ptolemaida, in the north, to protest the country’s failure to adopt cleaner energy practices.

Public Power Corporation (PPC), in which the Greek state holds a 51 percent stake, still makes most of its electricity from lignite.

Past studies have shown that the use of lignite, a form of brown coal, burdens Greece with up to 3.9 billion euros annually in environmental and health costs.

Takis Grigoriou, a climate and energy campaigner at Greenpeace Greece and one of the 10 activists who climbed the tower, said the stunt was aimed at sending “a peaceful, non-violent but strong” message to the government and PPC.