Climate activists block A12 in The Hague for eighth day in a row; removed by police
https://nltimes.nl/2023/09/16/climate-activists-block-a12-hague-eighth-day-row-removed-police
The estimated several hundred climate activists who blocked the A12 highway in The Hague on Saturday have been removed from the road by the police.
Several hundred climate activists are blocking the A12 highway in The Hague on Saturday for the eighth day in a row. They are protesting against government measures that support the fossil fuel industry. The Police used water cannons after some time.
dizzy: Extinction Rebellion NL have blocked the A12 at the Hague on previous occasions. The current programme of ongoing protests is to demand that the Dutch government stops it’s huge fossil fuel subsidies. They have blocked the A12 daily since last Saturday with the police using water cannon to clear them and reporting minors to the Dutch equivalent of Social Services for protesting. The following video is at least a day old and so does not cover today’s protest.
Even more subsidies for fossil fuels than previously assumed, up to €46 billion annually
Even more subsidies and tax breaks are flowing into the fossil sector than previously assumed. According to a calculation by the Ministry of Economy and Climate, these amount to 39.7 to 46.4 billion euros annually. This is stated in the documents that will be released on Budget Day, September 19.
Insiders confirm corresponding reports from NOS. This is only a sum of all the benefits of the use of fossil energy and raw materials. It does not include, however, the cost to consumers. The report also states that a large part of the benefits (about 17 billion) is specified in international treaties or European Union directives.
A recent research report by SOMO, Oil Change International, and Milieudefensie already came to a total of 37.5 billion euros. Outgoing Minister Rob Jetten (Climate and Energy) said at the time that this amount sounded familiar. In general, Jetten wants to eliminate fossil fuel rebates.
According to NOS, this affects large steel companies, coal-fired power plants, greenhouse nurseries, inland shipping and oil refineries. Airlines, for example, do not have to pay kerosene tax in the Netherlands, which earns them more than 2 billion euros per year.
In recent years, fossil benefits have also disappeared. According to Jetten, phasing out fossil fuel perks can’t be done in one swoop. There has to be a phase-out plan for that, he says. “In this way we say goodbye to the old economy and create space for new jobs and prosperity,” he posted on X. For a long time, it was unclear how many subsidies and tax breaks went to the fossil fuel sector.
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Climate protestors block Hague highway for third day; 3,000 arrests so far
https://nltimes.nl/2023/09/11/climate-protestors-block-hague-highway-third-day-3000-arrests-far
By 2:00 p.m., there were no more protesters blocking the highway.
A few dozen Extinction Rebellion (XR) activists walked onto the A12 in The Hague around noon on Monday, blocking the highway in both directions for the third consecutive day. The climate action group intends to block the Utrechtsebaan, as the stretch of highway is known, every day until the Dutch government stops subsidizing fossil fuels. The police have arrested around 3,000 protesters since Saturday, and more arrests are expected to follow today.
The police ordered the protesters to get off the highway and hold their demonstration elsewhere, but like on the weekend, they gave no heed, according to AD. The Hague mayor Jan van Zanen, therefore, gave the police the go-ahead to clear the protesters off the highway.
At 12:30 p.m., the police started using water canons and arresting activists. Police officers physically removed activists from the highway and loaded them into buses to go to a police station in batches. By 1:00 p.m., most activists had been removed, and one lane of the highway reopened to traffic.
At 01:57 p.m., there were no more protesters blocking the highway, AD reported. At 02.23 p.m., it was announced that the highway was being cleaned and would soon be reopened to traffic in both directions.
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“Every day all over the world, and especially in the Global South, people are dying because of climate disasters that our government is paying for,” XR spokesperson Tessel Hofstede said after Saturday’s protest. “This has to stop now. That is why we will keep coming back every day at noon until all fossil fuel subsidies are eliminated.”
A recent study by OMO, Oil Change International, and Milieudefensie showed that the Dutch government misses out on 37.5 billion euros in income yearly due to schemes that favor using fossil fuels. And that while there is overwhelming scientific evidence that greenhouse gases from fossil fuels are the leading cause of global warming.
https://nltimes.nl/2023/09/11/climate-protestors-block-hague-highway-third-day-3000-arrests-far
Extinction Rebellion NL start blockades of A12 motorway at The Hague
Permanent A12 blockade Stop Fossil Subsidies
Saturday, September 9 at 12:00 noon is the moment of the Big One: we will demonstrate for the eighth time on the A12. And also for the last time. Because no matter what the Hague municipal council allows the police to do, we will stay or come back day in and day out. Until the government meets our demand: an immediate end to all fossil subsidies. Together we can do this. Get involved and join us!
The most recent IPCC report is clear: continuing on the current path will lead to between 2.2 and 3.5 degrees of warming. Even now, the situation in the Global South is extreme: hundreds of thousands of people die every year as a result of the climate and ecological crisis. In 2022, 43,000 people died in Somalia alone due to drought. Yet our government stimulates the fossil industry with up to 30 billion euros in fossil subsidies every year . Bizarre policy with devastating consequences!
Participate? Which can! Good preparation is important. Take an Action Training so that you know how to take peaceful civil disobedience action and join the Telegram group A12StopSub
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Around 2,000 arrests during first day of A12 blockade, new A12 blockade tomorrow at 12:00 noon
09/09/2023
Extinction Rebellion will keep coming back, every day at 12:00 noon, until fossil subsidies are abolished
Today, on Saturday September 9, about 25,000 people demonstrated on and next to the A12 , in the blockade and the support demo . From 1:30 p.m., the police deployed water cannons and peaceful demonstrators were also frequently beaten with batons. Around 2,000 people were arrested for demonstrating peacefully on the A12 between the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the temporary House of Representatives building. A large number of these demonstrators will be back on the A12 tomorrow at 12:00 noon to demand an immediate end to all fossil subsidies. If they are removed again by the police, they will return the next day and every day after that, always at 12:00 noon.Â
Tessel Hofstede, spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion and recently sentenced to 30 hours of community service for ‘incitement’: “On the first day of the permanent A12 blockade, many thousands of people showed that all fossil subsidies must now end. Every day around the world, and especially in the Global South, people die from climate disasters that our government helps pay for. This must stop now. That is why we will keep coming back, every day at 12:00 until all fossil subsidies are abolished.”Â
37.5 billion euros annually: the amount is correct
On Tuesday, September 5, Rob Jetten admitted to the Financieel Dagblad that ‘the amount is correct’.[1] He was referring to the annual 37.5 billion euros in fossil subsidies from research by SOMO, Oil Change International and Milieudefensie.[2] He further indicated that the government is still busy ‘mapping’ the size. A striking fact since the Balkenende cabinet already determined in 2009 that fossil subsidies had to be phased out[3], a process that should have been completed in 2025.
Mozart on the A12
XR Musicians was present with 180 musicians and a choir. They opened the demonstration with the Dies Irae from Mozart’s Requiem. Dies Irae means ‘Day of anger’. Cellist Sanne Bijker: “Anger is appropriate today, because the government is still investing in fossil subsidies at the expense of the Global South and future generations. Anger is also an emotion that sets you in motion, anger makes you get up and take action. We hope to get more people moving with this music.”
Professors in gowns [Scientists’ white coats?]
Scientist Rebellion demonstrated with dozens of scientists, including a number of professors, many of whom were wearing gowns. “Climate change requires radical system change towards a society that does everything it can to keep this planet livable and healthy for people, animals and nature,” said Patrick Huntjens, professor of governance of Sustainability Transitions, Maastricht University. “As long as there are 37.5 billion euros in fossil subsidies, the government is part of the problem and the main obstacle on the way to a sustainable and just society.”
“This is the fourth time I have participated in the A12 blockade with Scientist Rebellion,” said Julia Schaumburg, professor of Econometrics, VU Amsterdam. “I am here as a scientist, but also, more importantly, as a citizen terrified of a future of continued global warming and environmental degradation.”
Broad support for professional groups
All kinds of professional groups also demonstrated on the A12, including XR Civil Servants, XR Teachers, XR Healthcare Professionals, XR Therapists and the green farmers of
Spokesperson Margarita Vossen of XR Zorgprofessionals: “This is bad news, further health damage must be prevented urgently. An emergency in the hospital is also not postponed, our planet is in need and we must take action now.”
‘No Tennis on a Dead Planet’: Climate Activists Disrupt US Open
Original article by JAKE JOHNSON republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).Â
“The climate is already more disruptive than any activists can possibly be,” said a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion.
A group of climate activists wearing shirts that read “End Fossil Fuels” delayed the semifinal match of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships by around 45 minutes Thursday night in an effort to call greater public attention to the planetary emergency that is wreaking deadly havoc worldwide.
One of the demonstrators glued his bare feet to the concrete in the stands at New York City’s Arthur Ashe Stadium, requiring additional effort by medical personnel and police to remove him and take him into custody.
The protesters were associated with the climate group Extinction Rebellion NYC, which said in a statement Thursday that there is “no tennis on a dead planet.”
“The climate and ecological crisis threatens everything on our planet, including sports,” the group said. “This action and similar actions are the response of a movement that has no other recourse than to engage in unconventional means of protest to bring mass attention to the greatest emergency of our time.”
Nineteen-year-old Coco Gauff won the semifinal match after it resumed. In an interview following her victory, Gauff said she supports “preaching about what you feel and what you believe in.”
“It was done in a peaceful way, so I can’t get too mad at it,” she said of the demonstration. “Obviously I don’t want it to happen when I’m winning up 6-4, 1-0, and I wanted the momentum to keep going. But hey, if that’s what they felt they needed to do to get their voices heard, I can’t really get upset at it.”
The U.S. Open—which counts JPMorgan, a major funder of fossil fuels, as an official partner—kicked off late last month amid growing concerns about the impact of extreme heat on the sport.
During a match earlier this week, Russian player Daniil Medvedev looked into a courtside camera between points and warned that an athlete is “gonna die” from the scorching temperatures.
The Associated Press reported that “it got so hot and humid at the U.S. Open on Tuesday that the folks in charge adopted a new policy for the rest of this year’s tournament: They will partially shut the Arthur Ashe Stadium roof in extreme conditions to offer some extra shade.”
“An Associated Press analysis showed the average high temperatures felt during the U.S. Open and the three other major tennis tournaments steadily have gotten higher and more dangerous in recent decades, reflecting the climate change that created record heat waves around the globe this summer,” the outlet noted. “For athletes, it can keep them from playing their best and, worse, increases the likelihood of heat-related illness.”
Earlier this week, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service confirmed that this summer has been the hottest on record, and a separate global report led by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed that greenhouse gas concentrations hit a record high last year as fossil fuel extraction continued.
A recent survey found that experts on social movements believe disruptive protests of the kind launched by Extinction Rebellion are important to the success of a particular cause, even though the initial public reaction to such tactics can often be negative. The U.S. Open protest drew loud boos from attendees.
Miles Grant, an Extinction Rebellion spokesperson, said Thursday that “the climate is already more disruptive than any activists can possibly be.”
“Just look at the U.S. Open and other big tennis events—year after year, the average temperatures have been rising, making it hotter and more dangerous for the players and spectators,” said Grant. “At some point, there will be fewer outdoor sporting events due to excessive heat.”
Original article by JAKE JOHNSON republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).Â
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