Succession writer Jesse Armstrong has handed a £25k donation to
Greenpeace as it battles a multimillion pound ‘intimidation lawsuit’ from
oil and gas giant Shell, which Armstrong compared to the attempt
by character Greg Hirsch to sue the green group in the show.
Armstrong co-wrote British comedy shows Peep Show and Fresh Meat
before creating Succession, which won Best Drama at the Emmys
last week. Armstrong’s donation brings the total amount
Greenpeace has raised in emergency donations from
supporters to fight the legal case to £280,000.
Shell launched the lawsuit against Greenpeace in late 2023 in
response to a peaceful protest by the organisation earlier that
year, in which activists occupied a moving oil platform to
protest against the climate change loss and damage caused by
Shell. Shell is demanding around $1 million in damages, as well
as legal costs that could rise into the millions; one of the
biggest legal threats against Greenpeace in its more than 50-year
history.
Armstrong compared Shell’s suit against Greenpeace to that
proposed by ‘Cousin' Greg Hirsch, great-nephew of series
antagonist Logan Roy, after his inheritance is donated to the
environmental group during Season 3 of Succession. A video
parodying Shell’s lawsuit
using clips from the show last friday received nearly a million
views across Greenpeace’s social media channels.
Jesse Armstrong, Emmy winning writer of Succession,
said: “Don’t listen to people who tell you satire
has no effect in the real world. On Succession we wrote a
storyline featuring Cousin Greg taking legal action against
Greenpeace to recover money he thought he should have been
bequeathed. It is inspiring news that, perhaps with this example
in mind, the Anglo-Dutch petrochemical giant Shell is suing
Greenpeace for having the temerity to protest against them.”
“The fact that Shell initially offered to reduce its damages
claim if Greenpeace agreed to stop protesting on its
infrastructure forever, seemed like a particularly cool move. “It
made me ponder a question Tom Wambsgans asked Greg:
“I like your style, Shell. Who’re you gonna go after next,
‘Save the Children’?”
Areeba Hamid, Joint Executive Director at Greenpeace UK,
said: “We’re delighted by Jesse’s support and his
generous donation. We took action against Shell because its
policies are driving climate chaos around the world - and the UK
government is doing nothing to stop them.
Under CEO Wael Sawan, Shell is making billions off sky high
energy prices, while those who’ve done the least to cause the
climate crisis are left to pick up the tab. Shell is suing
Greenpeace to silence legitimate demands for climate justice, but
we’re not giving up. We will keep fighting until Shell stops
drilling and starts paying for the damage they are causing to our
planet and everyone living on it.”
The lawsuit is over a peaceful protest which saw six activists
occupy Shell’s Penguins floating production storage and
offloading [FPSO] unit for 13 days, from January 31 to February
12. During that time Shell announced record annual profits of
nearly $40bn. Shell initially offered to reduce its damages claim
if Greenpeace agreed to stop protests at its infrastructure at
sea or in port anywhere in the world, forever; Greenpeace refused
these conditions.
Activists were calling on the company to stop drilling for new
oil and gas, and instead take responsibility for causing climate
breakdown, and start paying into the climate loss and damage fund
which has been agreed by world leaders at global climate talks.
The Penguins platform is the first new operated vessel for
Shell in the northern North Sea for 30 years. At peak
production the project is expected to yield the equivalent of
45,000 barrels of oil per day, and Shell has suggested it could
open up further areas for exploration.
