‘Don’t Dig up the Green’: Satirical palm oil protest held in Dublin

A satirical protest aimed at highlighting the effects of palm oil plantations around the world was held in Dublin city centre on Tuesday.

Members of the Irish Coalition for Business and Human Rights marched this morning against fictitious plans to create a palm oil plantation in St Stephen’s Green.

Under a banner which stated ‘Don’t Dig up the Green’, the event was aimed at highlighting the issue of palm oil plantations across the globe that are “contributing to deforestation, violent attacks against human rights defenders and people being forcibly evicted from their land”.

The coalition, which is made up of 20 civil society organisations, unions, businesses and human rights academics, are hoping to put pressure on Irish MEPs before an upcoming vote on the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive in the European Parliament.

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Sorcha Tunney, co-ordinator of the Irish Coalition for Business and Human Rights, said the “tongue-in-cheek stunt” was intended to raise a “really serious issue”.

“Later this month our MEPs will have the chance to vote in the European Parliament to introduce historic new human rights and sustainability rules for corporations,” she said.

“We are calling on our Irish MEPs to make sure these rules are strong and effective. We need to prevent human rights and environmental damage, not just connected to palm oil, but across all sectors, whether related to garments, mining, or modern slavery.”

Caoimhe de Barra, chief executive of Trócaire, said: “Of course, there’s no actual plans to dig up St Stephen’s Green for a palm oil plantation, that would be absurd.

“But what’s even more absurd is that many of the communities we work with around the world are under attack, being forced out of their homes and are losing their land, all to satiate the global demand for palm oil.

“This lucrative commodity is found in so many of our everyday products, such as our breakfast cereals, shampoo and cosmetics.”

Jim Clarken, chief executive of Oxfam Ireland, said the organisations had come together to highlight the “scandalous fact that communities are being forcibly evicted from their homes by big business”.

“It is equally as scandalous that this demand for palm oil is causing significant environmental damage around the world, including mass deforestation and species loss,” he said.

“This is happening against the backdrop of an out of control climate crisis. We wouldn’t let this reckless behaviour by corporations happen in St Stephen’s Green or anywhere in Ireland and we can’t let it happen elsewhere in our world.”