Climate collapse

Greenpeace USA and Greenpeace International are scheduled to go to trial in North Dakota, USA. We are being sued by Energy Transfer – a US-based fossil fuel company that is responsible for the Dakota Access Pipeline – for nearly US $300 million related to the Indigenous-led 2016 protests at Standing Rock. Not only does this SLAPP attempt to rewrite the history of this movement led by the Standing Rock Sioux, but a loss at trial could prove destructive to Greenpeace in the US and have widespread impacts for the climate justice movement all around the world.

Energy Transfer’s SLAPP against Greenpeace is a crucial test of this dangerous legal tactic that, if successful, could be widely applied against peaceful protesters, and indeed, anyone who speaks out or criticises a deep-pocketed corporation. Let’s take a deeper look at the backstory of this lawsuit, the threat posed by SLAPPs, and why this case matters for all of us.