Category: Climate Chaos

Wednesday 2nd September 2009

Activists Invade Construction Company HQ

Activists from Don’t Build Kingsnorth have today invaded the Dartford offices of construction giant Laing O’Rourke. The protest is against the company’s bid to build Britain’s first coal fired power plant in 30 Years at Kingsnorth in Kent.

A large group of activists entered the offices, handed out leaflets and talked to staff. Meanwhile, another team scaled the building and hung a banner reading “Don’t Build Kingsnorth”.

Laing O’Rourke is among six companies bidding to build the controversial power station which would, if built, emit more carbon dioxide than the entire country of Ghana[1].

One of the activists, Pietro Testa (35) said, “In their publicity Laing O’Rourke claim that their people want to respond to unprecedented environmental challenges. We’re here today to hold Laing O’Rourke to account and to tell them clearly that building Kingsnorth would directly contribute to an unprecedented environmental catastrophe.”

Another activist, Hannah Chisolm (21) added, “Coal is the dirtiest form of fossil fuel. Climate change is already killing 300,000 people a year[2]. Building another coal power station is clearly insanity. We were inspired by Thames Valley Climate Action’s action at the offices of another Kingsnorth bidder, BAM Nuttall earlier in the year. Any firm bidding to build Kingsnorth needs to know the extent of the opposition they will face.”

“A year ago I went to the Climate Camp[3], which was held outside Kingsnorth. Today’s protest shows that, even though the location of the Climate Camp has changed, Kingsnorth remains a target for Climate Change campaigners.”

Contact: 07950 457 344 for interviews and photos

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center: http://cdiac.ornl.gov/
2. Global Humanitarian Forum: http://www.ghf-geneva.org/
3. Climate Camp: http://climatecamp.org.uk/

Leaflet handed out to staff

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2.9.09
This morning climate activists entered the Dept of Energy and Climate Change [pic], protested outside [pic] and blocked the door with a canoe [twitpics 1|2|3|4]

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Climate Activists Hit Big Business and Banks

Tuesday 1st September 2009

Today over 300 activists from the Climate Camp took action against the root causes of climate change.

20 activists blockaded the headquarters of RBS in the City of London from 8.15am [1]. Seven activists glued themselves to each other in the trading floor inside the offices, and were removed by the police at 1.30pm. One has been arrested. 70 protesters arrived at 10am and rushed a second entrance, forcing RBS to close the building. As of 4pm, the activists were showing no signs of leaving. [RBS-specific press release]
[Videos 1 | 2 | 3]

7 naked protesters demonstrated at the offices of Edelman PR, exposing the naked truth behind E.ON’s greenwash campaign around new coal-fired power stations in the UK. [2] The superglued protesters were removed at 1pm. [Edelman-specific press release] [Edelman protest video]

At 11am activists from Alberta, Canada, accompanied by 300 participants from the climate camp, marched from Trafalgar square to the National Portrait Gallery, the Canadian embassy, and the head offices of BP and Shell. [3] Activists climbed onto the balcony of the Shell building in Waterloo and dislodged the ‘S’ from the main sign to reveal the word ‘Hell’. [BP protest video] [Shell protest video]

Maddie Alinska said: “This shows that people realise that it is becoming necessary to take action because bankers, corporations and politicians are unwilling and unable to meet the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced. We are seeing first hand how everybody has the right and responsibility to take action on climate change.”

Many of the people who took part in the actions were first time protesters who took part in Direct Action training at the Camp for Climate Action. [4]

Tracy Singh commented: “It’s the first time I’ve taken to the streets like this. Climate Camp has given me the skills and the confidence to get involved. I’ve gotten so tired of waiting for governments and businesses to do something – it’s about time we took matters into our own hands.”

Notes for Editors

1. RBS is 70% owned by the UK government, but is nonetheless continuing to invest in carbon-intensive industries, including millions in E.ON since being nationalised.
2. Edelman PR have been handling E.ON’s account since 2008. E.ON own both Kingsnorth power station in Kent, and the Ratcliffe-on-Soar plant in Nottinghamshire, the 3rd biggest coal station in the UK.
3. Shell are heavily committed to the mining of Tar Sands in Canada, which is causing the death and disruption of Alberta’s indigenous communities. BP have taken a significant stake in the operations since 2007. The National Portrait Gallery is sponsored by BP.
4. The Camp for Climate Action has targeted Drax (2006), Heathrow (2007), Kingsnorth (2008) and was held in London this year August 28th – September 2nd.

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Congratulating eOn for winning the Great Climate Swoop vote – videos 1 | 2

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September 1, 2009
An affinity group of anarchists who had been participating in Climate Camp and had been concerned about the tone and low impact of some of the mainstream camp actions decided to visit the Daily Mail head office in the hope of having a few words. The immediate trigger for this was the poor write up the Camp had received in that week’s paper which stereotyped those at camp as ‘young, posh idiots’, although all the activists involved had many other motivations for this action. Most of all, as working-class people with a sense of basic human solidarity, all those present detested the Mail for its sexist and racist overtones and long record of consistently scapegoating and demonising marginalised social groups such as immigrants, queers, transpeople, the unemployed, youth stigmatised as “chavs”, as well as specific instances like the incredibly inaccurate hack job of an article about anarchists in the run-up to the G20.

The group located the Mail’s head office on Derry Street in leafy Kensington, masked up and attempted to enter the building, flying a red and black flag and shouting anti-capitalist and anti-Daily Mail chants. The group approached a door clearly marked ‘Visitors’, but were made to feel rather unwelcome by the reaction of several security guards – both uniformed and plain clothed – who immediately locked the revolving door and attacked and threatened the ‘visitors’. Public reaction was warm, with some passers-by photographing and filming the action and shouting their opposition both to the Mail and the severity of the reaction.

There was a disproportionate over-reaction by armed police, culminating in a very visible get-together on the scenic banks of the lake in Hyde Park – several police vehicles, several anarchists, and several swans were in attendance. Although the group didn’t get to have the little chat they’d intended with the Mail journalists, those involved spoke of feeling invigorated and empowered by the action and its reception – intimidating heavily armed men just by singing and asking questions, for instance, was a new experience for many of them. And we bet the hacks shit themselves a little bit too.

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Autonomous Anarchists for Earth Liberation
1.9.2009
Last night Autonomous Anarchists took action against some of London’s biggest climate criminals.

last nights targets were..

*E.ON – Chains around their door handles and expanding foam in their locks.
*World Coal Institute – Is now bearing a new and more appropriate slogan ‘Stop Climate Change Now’.
*D1 Oils PLC – Expanding foam in the locks and also now reads ‘Stop Climate Change Now’.

A handful of Starbucks also got the expanding foam treatment, just for good measure. (no capitalist coffee for the bankers while they’re waiting for their locks to be replaced!)

The actions were in solidarity with the Climate Camp activists taking direct action on climate criminals around London today, we hope you enjoy your ‘rambling raffle of resistance’!

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1st September 2009

direct action against climate criminals

Last night between midnight and 2am a group of autonomous anarchists targetted 4 buildings across central London for their continued involvement with crimes against a planet meant to be shared by all of us, not auctioned off for profit.

The world coal institute had its door handles chained together and expanding foam piped into its locks, the activists then went on to target E.ON (the company behind climate camp target Kingsnorth power station) with more expanding foam and graffiti reading “stop climate change now A”, an identical attack was then aimed at D1 Oils PLC and one more at a Starbucks coffee outlet (recently slated in the media for keeping their taps running 24 hours a day)

Whilst their has been speculation about this being misinformation I assure you these attacks DID happen, whilst the graffiti may well have been scrubbed off this morning the activists did their best to make sure that no one would be able to enter the buildings and cause even more atrocities today.

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Messages left at Blue NG Bath HQ
Friday 4th September 2009
It seems that people have taken it upon themselves to remind Biofuels company Blue NG that Biofuels are causing major ecological and social catastrophe throughout the globe.

On my way to work this morning, I noticed that the offices of Biofuels company Blue NG had been redecorated with chalk messages highlighting the social and environmental effects of Biofuel. The messages also showed support for the decision of Southall councillors and residents to reject the building of a Blue NG biofuels refinery on their doorstep.

Messages included –
* Planet – 10, Blue NG – 0 (a reference to the number of councillors who voted against the plant)
* Greenwash won’t biofool us

and loads more

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Climate Camp Strike Twice

Monday 31st August 2009

Climate Campers are heading out into London after several days of learning about climate change and taking action at the Blackheath Camp. Activists are launching a ‘clean up operation’ of the Treasury at 11am today, and a flash mob at London City Airport at 12 noon.

Armed with boiler suits and cleaning equipment, the protesters will expose the Treasury’s continued dirty practice of using taxpayers’ money to fund fossil fuel extraction(1) in spite of the Government’s claim to be a global leader in the fight against climate change. The protesters will announce their presence on this ‘anti-bank holiday’ by dropping a banner proclaiming ‘Climate Change Doesn’t Take Holidays’.
[Cleaning the Treasury video]

Protester Nimsha Doshi says “We’ve had enough of false solutions and false promises. We’re here to expose the Government’s role as a climate criminal, and the political system’s failure to fight against climate change”.

At London City Airport, the campers are protesting against the recently approved 50% expansion of the airport. Local residents were outraged this July as Newham Council, supported by Mayor Boris Johnson, agreed to allow an extra 50,000 plane journeys from the airport, bringing City’s annual flight total to 120,000.(2)
[Flashmob report]

Climate Camper Anna Markova said: ‘We will be there to protest against corporations driving the climate change agenda. They have pushed through the expansion of London City Airport against the wishes of the local community. This December the same big businesses will be flying from here to promote false solutions, like carbon trading, at the UN Climate Conference at Copenhagen. We can’t afford to let businesses drive us into climate crisis.’

‘London City Airport and Newham Council have cooperated to misinform and deceive the residents of South East London. The expansion means improving transport for the rich at the cost of further worsening air quality and noise pollution in the area, and eroding the health and wellbeing of local communities.’

Climate Camper Tara Williams said, ‘After a few days of workshops and training at the Camp, I’m getting ready to take direct action. Many of us who have never taken part in direct action before are now poring over maps and planning the next protests. With European Climate Exchange and Barclays targeted earlier in the week, it’s now 4 down, 18 to go…’ (3)

Ends

For comment or images, please phone 0793 209 6677, 07040900905 or 07772861099.#
Notes to Editors

1. The Government now has a majority stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland, who fund carbon-intensive industries such as tar sands extraction in Canada.
2. The aviation industry is the fastest growing CO2 emissions source in the UK. Nearly 30 airport expansion projects are planned in the UK at the moment. The Government plans to offset these emissions through the EU Carbon Trading scheme, which will put the burden on developing countries instead of actually lowering emissions.
3. Climate Camp released a target list of 22 ‘climate criminals’ earlier in the week, containing the head offices of some of the country’s most polluting corporations, and departments responsible for failing climate policies.

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Climate protesters scale Carbon Exchange – 27th August 2009

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