Climate Emergency

‘It’s like Groundhog Day’: what prison is like for young climate activists

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https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/57619/1/young-climate-activists-prison-experience-just-stop-oil

Louise Harris climbs a gantry above the M25 for Just Stop Oil. Imge: Just Stop Oil.

We speak to three Just Stop Oil activists who have spent time in jail as a result of their climate activism

Most people spend their 21st surrounded by friends, family, and loved ones. Usually, there are presents, balloons, a cake festooned with a ring of striped wax candles. Maybe a bottle of champagne too, if you’re lucky. But last year, Louis McKechnie spent his 21st birthday alone in a prison cell – and celebrated his 22nd the same way this year, too.

“I didn’t expect to spend this birthday in prison, but I’m comfortable enough,” he said in a statement published on the Just Stop Oil website on his birthday in November 2022. “No matter what the state takes from me, I’ll be glad to have given it to increase my generation’s odds of survival.” Louis, 22, is a Just Stop Oil activist. He’s been incarcerated in HMP Wandsworth since July, following his protest at Silverstone in the summer, and will remain there until next year. He’ll miss Christmas this year too – again, just like he did last year.

When it comes to climate protests, most of the time, we only see one half of the story: activists launching soup at a painting or glueing themselves to a motorway, before being swiftly whisked away in handcuffs by police in high-vis jackets. We rarely pause to think about what happens to these activists after they’ve been arrested and what they sacrifice in the process.

We spoke to three Just Stop Oil activists – McKechnie (via his father), Jesse Prince, who spent eight days in HMP Lewes, and Louise Harris, who has recently been released on bail from HMP Bronzefield – about what it’s really like to have a brush with the law as a climate activist. 

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Go to article: https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/57619/1/young-climate-activists-prison-experience-just-stop-oil

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UN biodiversity talks hampered by ‘lack of political will’: WWF

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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/14/un-biodiversity-talks-hampered-by-lack-of-political-will-wwf

World Wildlife Fund urges more ambitious targets after developing nations stage COP15 walkout over funding plans.

A “lack of political will” is hindering the United Nations biodiversity conference, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has warned, urging participating nations to set more ambitious goals to tackle the environmental crisis.

Delegates from nearly 200 countries have gathered in Montreal, Canada in an effort to tackle the rapid decline of global biodiversity – the loss of animals, plants, and other organisms, as well as entire ecosystems around the world.

“Currently, there’s simply a lack of political will compared to what’s needed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030,” Florian Titze, an adviser on international biodiversity policy at WWF Germany, said during a news conference on Wednesday.

“Nothing is lost yet. We still look hopeful towards the next week, when ministers are here,” Titze added.

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The call to action came after delegates from developing countries staged a late-night walkout of the UN conference – dubbed COP15 – on Tuesday after talks broke down with wealthier nations over the contentious issue of funding.

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Just Stop Oil disrupt traffic in North London calling for U-turn on coal decision

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Just Stop Oil protests at Green Lanes, Finsbury Park, London. Image: Just Stop Oil

Just Stop Oil have disrupted traffic on key routes in London today to demand that the government halts all new fossil fuel licences and consents and reverses last week’s disastrous decision to permit a new coal mine in Cumbria. 

Just Stop Oil activists wearing hi-vis vests disrupted traffic at Green Lanes, Finsbury Park and proceeded to march slowly northwards accompanied by around 7 police officers at 8am this morning.

Sheila Shatford, 67, grandmother of two and former nurse from Bristol, who has already spent 13 days in prison for taking action with Just Stop Oil, said:

“As a baby boomer I have a responsibility and a need to stand beside all the brave young people who are prepared to put their careers and freedom on the line in order to stop the wanton destruction of their future and the misery and suffering happening right now as a result of climate breakdown. 

“Shame on you Mr Sunak, for allowing your government to support oil and gas expansion, shame on you for allowing a new coal mine that nobody wants or needs. Shame on you for demonising peaceful people. You can ban us, revile us, lock us up but you won’t stop us. We will not be complicit in the destruction of everything we hold dear.”

Peter Smith, 30, from Harringey, London said:

“The stark reality is terrifying. If we continue down the road we are currently on we don’t have a future. We face starvation and misery and the loss of all we hold dear. Normal people need to take a stand and support Just Stop Oil in stopping new fossil fuel licences and moving towards a sustainable future.”

Ludi Simpson, 69, a retired planner from Shipley, Yorkshire said:

“The UN general secretary says that spending on new fossil fuel exploration is delusional. Our government is doing just that and I fear for my children’s future. My action is from the heart and the head. I know politicians can do the right thing if they listen to the facts. Their inaction is burning up our lives.  I want us all to have lives we can be proud of. Is it too much to ask for a safe future? Governments must end the greed of oil companies which is immoral and killing us.”

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Decarbonising the energy system by 2050 could save trillions – Oxford study

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https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2022-09-14-decarbonising-energy-system-2050-could-save-trillions-oxford-study

  • New study shows a fast transition to clean energy is cheaper than slow or no transition 
  • Idea that going green will be expensive is ‘just wrong’ 
  • Green technology costs have fallen significantly over the last decade, and are likely to continue falling 
  • Achieving a net zero carbon energy system by around 2050 is possible and profitable 

Transitioning to a decarbonised energy system by around 2050 is expected to save the world at least $12 trillion, compared to continuing our current levels of fossil fuel use, according to a peer-reviewed study  by Oxford University researchers, published in the journal Joule. 

The research shows a win-win-win scenario, in which rapidly transitioning to clean energy results in lower energy system costs than a fossil fuel system, while providing more energy to the global economy, and expanding energy access to more people internationally.  

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Lead author Dr Rupert Way, postdoctoral researcher at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, says, ‘Past models predicting high costs for transitioning to zero carbon energy have deterred companies from investing, and made governments nervous about setting policies that will accelerate the energy transition and cut reliance on fossil fuels. But clean energy costs have fallen sharply over the last decade, much faster than those models expected.

‘Our latest research shows scaling-up key green technologies will continue to drive their costs down, and the faster we go, the more we will save. Accelerating the transition to renewable energy is now the best bet, not just for the planet, but for energy costs too.’ 

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John Kerry examining likely impact of new UK coalmine

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/10/john-kerry-examining-likely-impact-of-new-uk-coalmine

John Kerry, the US climate official, has said he is closely examining the UK government’s approval of a new coalmine, over concerns that it will raise greenhouse gas emissions and send the wrong signal to developing countries.

Kerry, Joe Biden’s special envoy for climate, said he was taking a close interest in the mine, the first to get the go-ahead in the UK for 30 years, and that he would speak out publicly against the approval if it did not meet strict criteria.

“I’m asking my people to give me a better download on exactly what the emissions implications are going to be,” he said in an interview on Friday evening.

“Coal is not exactly the direction that the world is trying to move in, or needs to move in. What I want to know is the level of abatement here [such as whether the resulting greenhouse gases will be captured and stored] and the comparison of this particular process in the production of steel,” he said.

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