Climate activists have criticised a North Dakota jury’s decision ordering Greenpeace to pay over $660m (£508m) in damages to an oil company, calling it a “dangerous precedent” that threatens the future of environmental activism and the right to protest in the US.
Energy Transfer, the company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), accused Greenpeace of defamation, trespassing and conspiracy, and claimed the environmental group spread misinformation and orchestrated illegal activities during the 2016-2017 pipeline protests – one of the largest anti-fossil fuel protests in US history.
