RESISTING THE CORPORATIONS
Closed for 'climate emergency'
Flights from London's Stansted airport were halted for four hours in the early hours of Monday, 8th December, as 57 environmental protestors 'camped' on the runway and surrounded themselves with fortified security fencing. The action by Plane Stupid was in response to the government's approval of expanding capacity at the airport by 10 million passengers a year. In October this year, following an appeal by operator BAA, the government overturned a refusal by Stansted's local planning authority to allow the expansion of the airport.
With a banner announcing "Climate Emergency" and high-visibility vests entreating people to "Please, DO something", the protest began at 3:15am whilst the runway was temporarily closed for maintenance work. The reopening, scheduled for 5am, was delayed while police removed the locked-on protestors. Ryanair alone reported that 56 of its flights were cancelled - almost one flight per protestor, meaning each personally stopped the release of 41.58 tonnes of greenhouse gas equivalent, according to Plane Stupid. All 57 protesters were arrested but were released later, most of them charged with 'aggravated trespass'. A statement posted on the Plane Stupid website said: "We took the decision to disrupt the airport to directly reduce the CO2 impact of Stansted, as a response to the government's consent to its expansion. We did so with heavy hearts, knowing it would disrupt passengers, because we knew the consequences of this action couldn't be worse than the consequences of inaction. If irreversible climate change kicks in, millions of lives will be destroyed." Aviation is Britain's fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions, amounting to at least 13% of the UK's contribution to climate change. With plans for new runways across the UK, including at Heathrow and Stansted, experts from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Research have recently said Labour's aviation policy alone "will scupper any chance the UK has of hitting its climate targets." Plane Stupid activists say they have used all avenues available to highlight the hypocrisy of the government's promise to both expand airports and stop climate change at the same time. "From letters, to meetings, to simple publicity stunts, to climbing on top of Parliament - we have done all we can to raise the climate alarm." The group has also tried to report the "crime of collusion" that the government has allegedly committed with BAA in pushing through airport expansion plans. But, despite the evidence they have been provided with, police are refusing to investigate the claims. "If all official channels fail," the activists said, "we are committed to using our bodies to physically stop carbon emissions." Meanwhile, thousands marched in London on Saturday, 6th December, demanding action from the UK government on climate change. The annual National Climate March, organised by the Campaign Against Climate Change, was part of a global day of action coinciding with UN talks on climate change in Poznan, Poland. Protestors carried banners and placards demanding "No new coal", "No third runway", "Stop agrofuels" and "Time for a Green New Deal". A few days before, an activist, now dubbed 'the Green Banksy', gained access to the Kingsnorth power station in Kent and managed to turn off one of its 500MW turbines, cutting the UK's greenhouse gas emissions by almost 2 percent during the four hours in which Kingsnorth was forced to stop operating. Kingsnorth is earmarked for construction of Britain's first new coal-fired power station in decades and was the target of last summer's Climate Camp. Its operator, German energy giant E.ON, has since become a key target for climate change activism (see here, for example). On Monday, 15th December, at 6am, around 30 campaigners from Coal Action Scotland, together with local residents, peacefully blockaded the entrance to the Scottish coal-operated Ravenstruther coal rail terminal in South Lanarkshire. Having stopped its reopening after the weekend, the action prevented the delivery of thousands of tonnes of coal to power stations across Scotland. Plane Stupid activists have vowed to "step up direct action" against British airports and set Heathrow as their possible next target. Other activists, however, are proposing new targets, such as companies impeding access to affordable, environmentally sustainable, public transport and who are as culpable as airlines and airport operators in making cheap flights seem an acceptable or necessary form of transport. As one activist put it, "if train fares are going through the roof and services are so bad, there is no wonder that many would rather fly." "Surely rail companies, who are effectively pushing people onto planes, are as complicit in climate change as airlines," she added.
With a banner announcing "Climate Emergency" and high-visibility vests entreating people to "Please, DO something", the protest began at 3:15am whilst the runway was temporarily closed for maintenance work. The reopening, scheduled for 5am, was delayed while police removed the locked-on protestors. Ryanair alone reported that 56 of its flights were cancelled - almost one flight per protestor, meaning each personally stopped the release of 41.58 tonnes of greenhouse gas equivalent, according to Plane Stupid. All 57 protesters were arrested but were released later, most of them charged with 'aggravated trespass'. A statement posted on the Plane Stupid website said: "We took the decision to disrupt the airport to directly reduce the CO2 impact of Stansted, as a response to the government's consent to its expansion. We did so with heavy hearts, knowing it would disrupt passengers, because we knew the consequences of this action couldn't be worse than the consequences of inaction. If irreversible climate change kicks in, millions of lives will be destroyed." Aviation is Britain's fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions, amounting to at least 13% of the UK's contribution to climate change. With plans for new runways across the UK, including at Heathrow and Stansted, experts from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Research have recently said Labour's aviation policy alone "will scupper any chance the UK has of hitting its climate targets." Plane Stupid activists say they have used all avenues available to highlight the hypocrisy of the government's promise to both expand airports and stop climate change at the same time. "From letters, to meetings, to simple publicity stunts, to climbing on top of Parliament - we have done all we can to raise the climate alarm." The group has also tried to report the "crime of collusion" that the government has allegedly committed with BAA in pushing through airport expansion plans. But, despite the evidence they have been provided with, police are refusing to investigate the claims. "If all official channels fail," the activists said, "we are committed to using our bodies to physically stop carbon emissions." Meanwhile, thousands marched in London on Saturday, 6th December, demanding action from the UK government on climate change. The annual National Climate March, organised by the Campaign Against Climate Change, was part of a global day of action coinciding with UN talks on climate change in Poznan, Poland. Protestors carried banners and placards demanding "No new coal", "No third runway", "Stop agrofuels" and "Time for a Green New Deal". A few days before, an activist, now dubbed 'the Green Banksy', gained access to the Kingsnorth power station in Kent and managed to turn off one of its 500MW turbines, cutting the UK's greenhouse gas emissions by almost 2 percent during the four hours in which Kingsnorth was forced to stop operating. Kingsnorth is earmarked for construction of Britain's first new coal-fired power station in decades and was the target of last summer's Climate Camp. Its operator, German energy giant E.ON, has since become a key target for climate change activism (see here, for example). On Monday, 15th December, at 6am, around 30 campaigners from Coal Action Scotland, together with local residents, peacefully blockaded the entrance to the Scottish coal-operated Ravenstruther coal rail terminal in South Lanarkshire. Having stopped its reopening after the weekend, the action prevented the delivery of thousands of tonnes of coal to power stations across Scotland. Plane Stupid activists have vowed to "step up direct action" against British airports and set Heathrow as their possible next target. Other activists, however, are proposing new targets, such as companies impeding access to affordable, environmentally sustainable, public transport and who are as culpable as airlines and airport operators in making cheap flights seem an acceptable or necessary form of transport. As one activist put it, "if train fares are going through the roof and services are so bad, there is no wonder that many would rather fly." "Surely rail companies, who are effectively pushing people onto planes, are as complicit in climate change as airlines," she added.