Revealed: plan for 'Newbury Bypass' of the skies - 23rd May 2007
This August, thousands of environmental activists and airport residents are planning to establish a ‘high impact’ direct action protest camp outside Heathrow.
This year’s ‘Camp for Climate Action’ follows on from the success of last year’s “Battle of Drax.” (1)
Last summer, 600 people took mass direct action in an attempt to shut down Drax power station in Yorkshire – the single biggest emitter of carbon dioxide in the UK. A new grassroots movement on climate change was born. Since Drax, groups have invaded an airport runway, occupied airline offices, and chained themselves to the coal belts at a climate-wrecking power station. (2) (3)
Plane Stupid is one of the groups that make up the ‘Climate Camp’ movement and are one of those helping to mount this summer’s action.
Campaigner for Plane Stupid, Leo Murray, explained:
“Gordon Brown has a fight on his hands. His plans for airport expansion show total contempt for democracy and fly in the face of the science.”
He added:
“We know that peaceful direct action can get the goods. The anti-roads movement of the 1990s made that clear. Brown has been warned. We are simply not going to sit by and let emissions from binge-flying make dangerous climate change become inevitable.”
Geraldine Nicholson, Chair of the local ‘No Third Runway Action Group,’ (NOTRAG) (4) said:
“BAA should not be surprised that people are planning to come from all over the country to protest at their expansion plans. This community will be destroyed if a third runway is built at Heathrow. An ever-increasing number of people think aviation policy is going in the wrong direction for a whole number of reasons – climate change, community destruction and noise. We will fight on all fronts and we will win.”
This year’s ‘Climate Camp’ comes at a pivotal time given that the government is trying to introduce a Climate Bill, which excludes emissions from international aviation.
Gordon Brown is also intent on changing planning laws to centralize decisions about new runways. That would mean that he could concrete over any democratic opposition.
Notes for editors
(1) www.climatecamp.org.uk
(2) www.planestupid.com
(3) www.eastsideclimateaction.org.uk
(4) www.notrag.org
