A group of Greenpeace activists is currently attempting to scale the Shard. The six climbers, all women, are staging the stunt in protest against oil and gas drilling in the Arctic.
The women began their ascent of Europe’s tallest building early this morning. Later the environmental groups’ Twitter feed carried a photograph of the group naming them as Sabine, Sandra, Victoria, Ali, Wiola and Lisbeth. Another Tweet read ‘Look up London’ using the hashtag #iceclimb.
In a blog written prior to the climb one of the women explains the group’s motivation for the protest:
“Hell yeah, I’m scared, but I’m scaling the Shard to save the Arctic. (The Protest) is something that I hope will stop one of the most heartbreaking acts of wanton environmental destruction – drilling for oil in the arctic.
“I’m over the moon that I can play any part in the mass resistance to this horrifying practice.”
Greenpeace says the Shard has been chosen as the site of the protest because it is in sight of the three London HQs of energy company Shell.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan police said they were called to the building at 4.20am and are monitoring the situation while a spokesperson for the Shard says their focus is on the safety of all those concerned.
