Activists from environmentalist group Stand.earth used today’s Carnival Corporation’s annual general meeting (AGM) in London to stage protests against the cruise giant’s environmental policies.
Pointing to revelations in recent U.S. court filings, Stand.earth is calling on Carnival to switch from heavy fuel to distillate to power its global fleet.
While protestors wearing “gas masks” (actually painting masks) protested outside the AGM, inside the meeting retired mechanical engineer and former Ministry of Defense naval scientist Ralph Hardwick (acting as a proxy for Stand.earth staff who hold shares in the company) intervened to ask a question of Carnival Corporation’s executives.
“How will Carnival Corporation address its gross failures on environmental stewardship and prevent further criminal prosecution? When will Carnival Corporation stop discharging toxic scrubber water into the ocean, and what steps will Carnival Corporation take to phase fossil fuels out of its global fleet?” asked Hardwick.
Stand.earth is calling on Carnival Corporation to move its global fleet away from heavy fuel oil to cleaner-burning marine gas oil with pollution filters, and to ultimately transition away from fossil-fuel powered ships completely.