[Cja] Activists found guilty in Ratcliffe coal climate trial

[Chris Kitchen]

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Press release: Activists found guilty in Ratcliffe coal climate trial

Twenty climate activists who planned to shut down one of Britain’s most
polluting power stations for a week were found guilty of conspiracy to
commit aggravated trespass today.

The activists were among 114 people arrested in a dawn raid on Easter Monday
last year in a widely criticised policing operation that saw officers
smashing their way into a school in Nottingham. It was the biggest
pre-emptive arrest in British history. Twenty of those arrested faced a
crown court trial which opened last month and ended today. The activists
openly accepted they wanted to force plant owners Eon to safely shut down
the power station for a week in an effort to stop 150,000 tonnes of CO2
entering the atmosphere – but they said they weren’t guilty of a crime
because they were acting out necessity due to the lack of an adequate
response to climate change by corporations and politicians. This comes as
the 16th UN Climate Change talks end in Cancun, where once again governments
have failed to build a legally binding strategy to cut emissions.

Speaking after the verdict one of the defendants, Clare Whitney, said:

“During this trial we have heard from people on the front line of our
changing climate, and from a company that is still burning the most dirty
form of fossil fuel for their economic benefit. These worlds are not
compatible. Taking action is not an issue of moral righteousness but an act
of self-defence. If we’re to stand a chance of avoiding irreversible climate
change we’ve got to realise that to bring about a better world we’ll need to
do it ourselves.”

Defendant Chris Kitchen said

“We are in solidarity with all those around the world fighting for climate
and social justice. Together we need to stop the root causes of climate
change, we need to stop profit being put before people. It’s big business
and politicians are that are the real criminals and we will not stand by as
we are robbed of our future.”

Dan Glass, another defendant in the case, said:

“This ruling won’t stop emissions. But the huge support we have received
from the people of Nottingham and internationally, does demonstrate that
public opinion is increasingly turning against the liberties that
governments are taking with our future.”

The court had earlier heard that a team of protesters would have pressed the
emergency stop buttons on the coal conveyors which feed the boilers, while
another team would have climbed the inside of the chimney before abseiling
into the flues to prevent the plant re-opening for a week, saving 150,000
tonnes of CO2. Six defendants took to the witness stand. One, Ben Stewart,
told the jury: “we did this to save human lives. I can’t tell you if the
lives we would have saved would have been my relatives or your relatives,
but they would have been somebody’s relatives.” All defendants spoke of huge
amount of community engagement they have carried out to raise the issue of
action on climate change, whilst still seeing emissions continuing to rise
unabated.

The defendants also called a number of internationally renowned expert
witnesses. They included Professor James Hansen, acclaimed as the world’s
leading climate scientist. He told the jury: “It doesn’t surprise me that
young people are angry when they know that politicians are lying to them.”
When challenged by the judge as to the measurable effects of the defendants’
proposed action, Hansen noted that the action could have prevented one, if
not more, species from becoming extinct. Dr Ian Roberts, Professor of
Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Medicine detailed to the
court the real and imminent threat to health posed by climate change, saying
we risk a ‘generational genocide’ as we ‘sleep walk into a nightmare’. Dr
Roberts told the court that at least 150,000 people a year were dying as a
result of man-made climate change.

Former local MP Alan Simpson also appeared as a witness for the defence. In
his written testimony he said: ‘Climate Change protestors are in my view
absolutely right to argue that we cannot continue with a ‘business as usual’
approach to UK carbon emissions without threatening the very prospects of
existence for future generations.’ Green Party leader Caroline Lucas MP told
the court politicians had failed in their duty to protect the public from
climate change.

Ends

For more, contact 07834324840

Notes:

1. The conspiracy to shut down Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in April 2009
is different from the Great Climate Swoop of October 2009 (
http://climatecamp.org.uk/actions/climate-swoop-2009)


Statement from the defendants

As the UN climate talks finish in Cancun, and fail once again to come up
with any legally binding framework to reduce emissions, the British legal
system is still upholding business as usual. This can’t continue. Burning
coal has no future.

We are twenty of the 114 who were targets of the biggest pre-emptive arrest
in UK history, as part of the increasing drive to stifle real action on
climate change. We planned not only to stop carbon emissions from Ratcliffe
but to be part of a much wider movement for global social justice. Dealing
with climate change means looking at its root causes and we need to question
why the profits of corporations such as e.on are being prioritised over
people on the front line of our changing climate and the protection of our
children’s futures.

In the 3 weeks we’ve been on trial over 17,000 people have died from the
effects of climate change, species have continued to disappear and a few
energy CEOs have continued to line their pockets. It’s the poorest and most
vulnerable communities, those least responsible for this crisis, who are
being hit the hardest.

Taking action on climate change is not an act of moral righteousness, but of
self-defence. History is full of ordinary people who have acted to protect
their fundamental rights and we need a strong movement of people doing just
that. We want to reiterate our support for everyone fighting for climate
justice.
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