Climate crisis

Climate protest news 13 April 2022 / 1

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Extinction Rebellion protest – live: Activists glue themselves to government buildings in week of mass action

Activists have glued themselves to UK government buildings in protest against new oil and gas as Extinction Rebellion continued its week of mass action in London.

XR said scientists – dressed in white lab coats – were taking part in the demonstration on Wednesday, even sticking scientific papers to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on Wednesday.

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Edinburgh climate activists ‘blockade’ government office in Shell gas field protest

Campaigners from groups including Stop Cambo and Extinction Rebellion Scotland have staged a sit down protest outside the Market Street building as part of a wave of action against the Jackdaw field

Activists have demanded plans for a new North Sea gas field are rejected in a sit-down protest outside a prominent Edinburgh government office.

Campaigners from the Stop Cambo movement gathered outside the Market Street building on Wednesday afternoon as part of a protest against Shell’s proposed Jackdaw field off the coast of Aberdeenshire.

The energy giant resubmitted an application for the location last week – despite having initial plans turned down by regulators in October – amid encouragement from the UK authorities for firms to ramp up oil and gas production in an effort to reduce energy reliance on Russia.

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Just Stop Oil protesters arrested after gluing hands to road on twelfth day of action

JSO image

Just Stop Oil protesters have been arrested on their twelfth day of action as they glued their hands to roads and climbed on top of oil tankers in Essex.

The group launched a demonstration on an oil refinery in Purfleet, Essex

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Images shared by Just Stop Oil show protesters on top of tankers in Purfleet with the message: “ We are in civil resistance. This morning we occupied a tanker on the roads near Purfleet terminal to stop the flow of oil”.

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JSO image
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Climate protest news 12 April 2022 / 2

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Extinction Rebellion protesters force Lloyd’s of London to close HQ

Extinction Rebellion protesters have forced the closure of the insurance market Lloyd’s of London, after using superglue, chains and bicycle locks to block entrances to the building.

The environmental activist group said more than 60 people had been at the site in the City of London since 7am on Tuesday to prevent workers from entering and with the intention of closing the business for the day.

Extinction Rebellion (XR), which encourages supporters to cause disruption through non-violent civil disobedience, said it was demanding that Lloyd’s stops insuring fossil fuel projects.

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Tory MPs criticise Ben Goldsmith over praise for Extinction Rebellion

Tory MPs have criticised Ben Goldsmith and called for his resignation as chair of the Conservative Environment Network (CEN) and a director at Defra after he voiced support for Extinction Rebellion.

The financier and environmentalist, who sits on Defra’s board, has apologised after criticising Labour’s strong stance against the Just Stop Oil protests, during which activists have blockaded fuel distribution terminals. He has said he has no plans to resign.

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Just Stop Oil protesters vow to continue until ‘all are jailed’

Anti-fossil fuel activists have vowed to continue blockading oil terminals until they are jailed, as they approached 1,000 arrests for their actions so far.

“Ministers have a choice: they can arrest and imprison Just Stop Oil supporters or agree to no new oil and gas,” Just Stop Oil said on Tuesday morning. “While Just Stop Oil supporters have their liberty the disruption will continue.”

Fuel-blockade activists were taking their first day off in 12 days on Tuesday, after beginning their campaign on 1 April. “We decided to give them a break,” a campaign spokesperson said. About 400 people have been arrested a total of 900 times for taking action so far, according to the campaign.

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Extinction Rebellion Statement on the UK Fuel Shortage

Extinction Rebellion is continuing its protests this week with bridge blockades, mass outreach and targeted actions, such as today’s shut down of financial institution Lloyd’s of London. The movement is also supporting disruption at oil facilities with the Just Stop Oil coalition. 

As petrol pumps around the country begin to run dry, the government has a choice: continue destroying life on Earth by doubling down on oil and gas and supporting corporate interest over people’s lives, or honour the UK’s Paris commitments and change course. 

In short, put an end to all new fossil fuel investments immediately. 

Extinction Rebellion is told time and again to stop disrupting ordinary people and target the bad guys instead. But it turns out when we disrupt carbon people feel it, as almost everything we do economically relates to – or relies on – oil and gas. We recognise these protests are hitting people now, but as the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres said, we are “on track for an unlivable future” by continuing to invest in fossil fuels. The disruption coming will be far greater and beyond our control unless this stops now. 

We are out of time – weather patterns are already destabilised and climate related deaths occurred on almost every continent in 2021. Our current political system is incapable of acting with the speed and integrity needed in this moment of crisis. Life as we know it is going to change, whether or not we choose to act on the climate crisis, and whether or not we like it. The UK government’s refusal to admit this is shameful dishonesty. In the words of its own Environment Agency, we must “adapt or die”.

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Extinction Rebellion targets energy industry insurers Lloyd’s of London

Activists from Extinction Rebellion blocked the entrances at Lloyd’s of London headquarters and prevented staff from entering the building, with the aim of closing down the insurance and reinsurance giant for the day.

The climate campaigners are is demanding that Lloyd’s of London stop insuring fossil fuels projects, and highlighted the Trans Mountain Pipeline extension in Canada, which they believe is being insured through the Lloyd’s marketplace.

The action is part of the April Rebellion and comes after 10 days of ongoing disruption across the UK from Extinction Rebellion and the Just Stop Oil coalition.

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https://twitter.com/XRebellionUK/status/1513771115998593026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1513771115998593026%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-3426803317839854908.ampproject.net%2F2203172113000%2Fframe.html

‘A Disgrace’: UK Labour Party Slammed for Seeking Injunction Against Climate Activists

The United Kingdom’s ostensibly leftist Labour Party came under fire Monday after calling for nationwide injunctions to block direct actions by climate campaigners that shut down oil terminals to demand an end to new fossil fuel investments.

“Those protesting against fossil fuel giants should be applauded, not arrested.”

“On the Conservatives’ watch, drivers are being hammered by rising petrol prices and now millions of motorists can’t access fuel,” tweeted Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer. “The government must stop standing idly by and immediately impose injunctions to put an end to this disruption.”

Steve Reed, Labour’s shadow justice secretary, made similar remarks Monday, outraging supporters of the Just Stop Oil (JSO) demonstrations—which started at the beginning of April—along with other leftists within and beyond the U.K.

“The Labour Party has just called for nationwide injunctions against climate protesters who are peacefully demonstrating against fossil fuels for all of our futures,” said Joe Ryle, who campaigns for a four-day work week and serves as the media and communications lead for a think tank.

“This is a disgrace, flies in the face of all the climate science, and will be deeply unpopular with Labour members,” asserted Ryle, a former press officer for the political party.

Former party leader Jeremy Corbyn made clear he disagrees with the push by Labour to criminalize or further block legitimate climate activism directed at the fossil fuel industry.

“We need a Green New Deal and a sustainable planet for future generations,” said Corbyn. “Those protesting against fossil fuel giants should be applauded, not arrested.”

“Absolutely incredible,” declared British columnist Owen Jones. “In Keir Starmer’s game-changing video in the Labour leadership campaign, he was showcased as a crusading lawyer who defended activists from being prosecuted by the state. Now he’s calling for environmental protesters to get locked up!”

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Just Stop Oil activists vow to continue disruption until UK agrees to fossil fuel demands

Just Stop Oil activists have vowed to continue their efforts to disrupt oil infrastructure across the country amid mounting criticism and concern of fuel shortages ahead of the Easter Weekend.

“Supporters of Just Stop Oil have no choice but to continue to take action whilst our government refuses to end new fossil fuel projects,” the campaign said in a statement to The Independent Tuesday.

“The government can end the disruption immediately by making a statement that they will end all new fossil fuel licences and consents in the UK.”

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Breaking news is that Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are fined over ‘Partygate’ lockdown parties …

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Climate news review

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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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Extreme heat in oceans ‘passed point of no return’ in 2014

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Extreme heat in the world’s oceans passed the “point of no return” in 2014 and has become the new normal, according to research.

Scientists analysed sea surface temperatures over the last 150 years, which have risen because of global heating. They found that extreme temperatures occurring just 2% of the time a century ago have occurred at least 50% of the time across the global ocean since 2014.

In some hotspots, extreme temperatures occur 90% of the time, severely affecting wildlife. More than 90% of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases is absorbed by the ocean, which plays a critical role in maintaining a stable climate.

“By using this measure of extremes, we’ve shown that climate change is not something that is uncertain and may happen in the distant future – it’s something that is a historical fact and has occurred already,” said Kyle Van Houtan, at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, US, and one of the research team. “Extreme climate change is here, it’s in the ocean, and the ocean underpins all life on Earth.”

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The heat content of the top 2,000 metres of the ocean set a new record in 2021, the sixth in a row. Prof John Abraham at the University of St Thomas in Minnesota, one of the team behind the assessment, said ocean heat content was the most relevant to global climate, while surface temperatures were most relevant to weather patterns, as well as many ecosystems.

“Oceans are critical to understanding climate change. They cover about 70% of the planet’s surface and absorb more than 90% of global warming heat,” Abraham said. “The new study is helpful because the researchers look at the surface temperatures. It finds there has been a big increase in extreme heat at the ocean’s surface and that the extremes are increasing over time.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/01/extreme-heat-oceans-passed-point-of-no-return-high-temperatures-wildlife-seas
Continue ReadingExtreme heat in oceans ‘passed point of no return’ in 2014