Injuncted protest group sets up climate camp under aeroplane wing - 13th August 2007

Environmentalists targeted in high court occupy barge transporting world's biggest passenger wing.

Plane Stupid, the green campaign group banned by the High Court last week from taking direct action at Heathrow, has today set up a climate camp on a barge transporting the wing of an Airbus A380.

The campaigners boarded the transporter as the wing was about to be taken along the River Dee from the Airbus factory in Broughton. They have pitched tents under the 420 square metre wing and say they will not leave the barge unless the wing is taken back to the factory. They say the wing should be stored until climate scientists say aviation can be expanded safely.

Leo Murray, who was injuncted last week from taking direct action at Heathrow, is one of those occupying the massive wing. He says the protesters are taking great care to not damage it.

“Climate change is a global planetary emergency and aviation is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in Britain,” Mr Murray said.

“Extraordinary times call for an extraordinary response, and that’s why we’ve set up a climate camp under the wing of an Airbus super-jumbo.”

Plane Stupid believes the manufacture of thousands of new airliners to meet worldwide government-sponsored aviation expansion puts any chance we have of defeating climate change at grave risk. Aeroplane manufacturers and airlines are at the forefront of lobbying for airport expansion across the globe. While Airbus claims the A380 is more environmentally sound than previous models, the slight fuel efficiency gains made by technological developments will be more than wiped out by the huge increase in flights expected this century.

“Waiting for an aeroplane that doesn’t cause climate change is like holding out for a cigarette that doesn’t cause cancer. It’s just not scientifically credible,” said Leo Murray from the wing.

“These new airliners aren’t being manufactured to clean-up the aviation industry, they’re being built to significantly enlarge it. But climatologists are very clear that we need to reduce total aviation emissions to a safe and sustainable level if we’re to avoid dangerous climate change. Gordon Brown could start by saying no to a third runway at Heathrow.”

Flying is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK, doubling in the 1990s. According to the government, flights from and within the UK account for 13 per cent of the UK's climate impact because greenhouse gases create more global warming when emitted at altitude (see parliamentary answer, May 2nd 2007).

The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution noted that anticipated changes to aircraft design would only deliver relatively small reductions in CO2 per passenger and that any radically new aircraft design is decades away, by which time it will be too late to prevent the worst effects of climate change. According to the world-renowned Tyndall Centre the UK will have to remove all carbon emissions from the rest of its economy to meet its long term emissions targets if aviation expands to the extent predicted. Dr Kevin Anderson, who led the research at the Tyndall Centre at Manchester University, said at the time: "If the UK government does not curb aviation growth, all other sectors of the economy will eventually be forced to become carbon neutral. It will undermine the international competitiveness of UK industry."

Leo Murray said: “If the government won’t stand up to the aviation industry, we will. We’ll maintain our climate camp on this A380 wing transporter unless the wing is taken back to the factory. It should be stored until climate scientists say aviation can be expanded safely. A threat as urgent as climate change calls for an urgent response, but the political process isn’t delivering. That’s why we’ve taken action today.”

The A380 will add to an already burgeoning global fleet of more than 12,000 airliners. Airbus hopes to sell more than 700 of its super-jumbos; and Boeing, more than 2,500 of its new Dreamliners.

Notes to editors

1. On Monday 6th August the High Court issued an injunction against Leo Murray and Joss Garman of Plane Stupid, and the organisation itself, preventing the group from joining mass direct action at Heathrow this week, or inciting it. Plane Stupid has not and will not break the injunction. It is for this reason that the group has set up a climate camp on the wing of an Airbus A380 many miles from the airport.