Yearly Archives: 2023

The Shutdown of “Luxury Emissions” Should Be at the Center of Climate Revolt

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https://theintercept.com/2022/12/13/climate-protest-private-jets-schiphol-airport/

SEVEN HUNDRED SELF-DESCRIBED “climate rebels” breached the chain-link fence surrounding Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, the world’s third-busiest hub for international passenger traffic, on November 5. With bolt cutters they opened holes in the fence and poured in, some of them on bicycles, and raced across the tarmac. Others laid ladders against the 9-foot-high fence and topped it on foot.

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“The superrich have got used to polluting as they please with a total disregard for people and planet, and private jets are the pinnacle of these luxury emissions that we simply cannot afford,” Jonathan Leggett, one of the activists, told us. “Our action brought them back to earth. We wanted to show the extremeness and injustice related to this manner of transport.”

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In the Netherlands, 8 percent of the population takes 40 percent of flights. Worldwide, the difference is even more stark: One percent of the population is responsible for 50 percent of pollution due to aviation, making air travel a textbook example of how pollution by the rich leads to consequences and injustices for those who have not caused the climate crisis.

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https://theintercept.com/2022/12/13/climate-protest-private-jets-schiphol-airport/

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Climate Change Heroes Of 2022: António Guterres, Just Stop Oil, Greta Thunberg And Climate Scientists

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Climate Change Heroes Of 2022: António Guterres, Just Stop Oil, Greta Thunberg And Climate Scientists – OpEd

An interesting long article reviews and discusses climate activism 2022 and looks forward to 2023.

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On New Year’s Day, Extinction Rebellion caused a stir by tweeting, “WE QUIT! Our New Year’s Resolution is to halt our tactics of public disruption. Instead, we call on everyone to help us disrupt our corrupt government.”

“Choose Your Future & join us”, they added, providing a date and a location: 21 April, Parliament. The aim — the idea of the velvet revolution — is to get 100,000 people to commit to turning at Parliament on April 21, and also to commit to not going home again at the end of the day.

Please give this date some serious thought and ask yourself, if you already find yourself making excuses not to turn up, why it’s not worth doing. The presence of 100,000 people could genuinely be a tipping point — a gathering too large for the government to suppress via the vile anti-protest legislation passed by the former home secretary Priti Patel, and which the current home secretary, Suella Braverman, wants to expand, which criminalises protest, and equates disruption to save the planet with terrorism.

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Environmental Audit Committee recommends ‘national mobilisation’ to reach net zero

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https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2023/01/mps-recommend-national-mobilisation-to-reach-net-zero/

In a recent report, a cross-party committee of MPs has asked for a “national mobilisation” that would improve home insulation and accelerate the transition towards net-zero.

The document has also called on ministers to set ambitious targets for rolling-out onshore wind and tidal energy, as well as recommending the government should set an end date for domestic oil and gas licensing.

“To reduce the UK’s demand on fossil fuels, we must stop consuming more than we need,” said Philip Dunne MP, the committee chairman. “We must fix our leaky housing stock, which is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and wastes our constituents’ hard-earned cash: we must make homes warmer and retain heat for longer.”

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https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2023/01/mps-recommend-national-mobilisation-to-reach-net-zero/

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Friends of the Earth takes legal action against government over new coalmine in Cumbria

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/01/friends-of-the-earth-takes-legal-action-against-government-over-new-coalmine-in-cumbria/

Environmental campaign group, Friends of the Earth, is taking legal action against the UK government following its recent decision to grant planning permission for a new coal mine in Cumbria.

The claim will be filed later this month and will focus on the harmful impacts to the environment from the coalmine. Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel.

The other main opponent of the mine, South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC), is also considering legal action and sent a letter to the Levelling Up Secretary, Michael Gove, in December seeking more information and setting out some of the errors in law in his decision. 

Niall Toru, lawyer at Friends of the Earth, said: “By giving the go-ahead to this polluting and totally unnecessary coal mine the government has not only made the wrong decision for our economy and the climate, we believe it has also acted unlawfully.

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Sunak ‘hasn’t a clue’ on climate scientist claims

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https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/labour-yougov-nhs-university-college-london-mps-b2256689.html

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak doesn’t understand climate breakdown and should revoke all new oil and gas exploration licences, a climate expert has said.

Professor Bill McGuire of University College London said he was not surprised that Mr Sunak did not mention climate in his New Year’s speech on Wednesday.

According to a YouGov poll, the environment ranks fourth in the public’s list of most important issues facing the country.

But it was left out of Mr Sunak’s five-point pledge to halve inflation, grow the economy, curb illegal Channel crossings and bring down the national debt and NHS waiting times.

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A PM who issues more than a hundred new oil and gas exploration licences and gives the go-ahead for a new coalmine clearly hasn’t a clue or simply doesn’t care, or perhaps both

Professor Bill McGuire

https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/labour-yougov-nhs-university-college-london-mps-b2256689.html

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