A few of today’s climate news stories
Insulate Britain says 117 supporters have been charged over road block protests after 857 arrests
Climate activists say they expect numbers to rise
Climate group Insulate Britain has said 117 activists have been charged over road-blocking protests last year.
Activists brought major roads – mostly in southern England – to a standstill during protests between September and November, which were aimed at drawing attention to the UK’s poorly heated homes.
The Metropolitan Police, Kent Police and Essex Police have each issued charges in recent weeks.
They include 146 charges of causing a public nuisance, 137 of wilful obstruction of the highway, and 10 of criminal damage.
Insulate Britain said it is “likely these numbers will rise as we understand that further charges are still being issued”.
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Greta Thunberg to publish a ‘go-to source’ book on the climate crisis
The Climate Book will include contributions from scientist Katharine Hayhoe, economist Thomas Piketty and novelist Margaret Atwood
Greta Thunberg is releasing a new book this autumn, which aims to offer a “global overview of how the planet’s many crises connect”.
“I have decided to use my platform to create a book based on the current best available science – a book that covers the climate, ecological and sustainability crises holistically”, Thunberg said in a statement. “Because the climate crisis is, of course, only a symptom of a much larger sustainability crisis. My hope is that this book might be some kind of go-to source for understanding these different, closely interconnected crises.”
In The Climate Book, which is due to be published by Penguin this autumn, Thunberg has assembled more than 100 contributors, from scientists Johan Rockström and Katharine Hayhoe to economist Thomas Piketty and novelist Margaret Atwood. The 19-year-old also shares what she has learned from her own experiences of climate activism. In particular, she discusses the prevalence of greenwashing, revealing the extent to which we have been kept in the dark about the issue. She names this as one of our biggest problems, but also our greatest source of hope – because, she believes, once we are all given the full picture, we will be able to act.
“Right now, we are in desperate need of hope”, Thunberg said. “But hope is not about pretending that everything will be fine.”
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France fails to meet court deadline to get Paris climate deal objectives back on track
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In a landmark ruling back in July 2021, France’s highest administrative court, the Council of State, condemned the government’s failure to comply with the 2015 accord and tackle climate change.
After a review, it concluded that the country was not doing enough to reach the agreement’s objective of reducing global greenhouse gases by 40% by 2030 compared to 1990.
The court gave the government nine months to “take all useful measures” to get the country back on track.
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UK parliament hunger strike ‘out of desperation’, climate activist says
A climate activist who has been on hunger strike outside the UK Houses of Parliament for three weeks has said his protest was an “utter necessity” even though it was putting his life at risk.
Angus Rose, a 52-year-old software engineer, tells The Independent he would rather be doing something else – such as hanging out with friends – than sat outside Westminster refusing to eat any food.
But he says: “This is out of desperation.”
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