The charges arose after the six attempted to shut down the
Kingsnorth coal-fired power station in Kent last year by scaling
the chimney and painting the Prime Minister's name down the side.
The defendants pleaded 'not guilty' and relied in court on the
defence of 'lawful excuse' - claiming they shut the power station
in order to defend property of a greater value from the global
impact of climate change.
Today's acquittal is a potent challenge to the UK Government's
plans for new coal-fired power stations from jurors representing
ordinary people in Britain who, after hearing the evidence,
supported the right to take direct action in order to protect the
climate. It stands as an example to governments everywhere and an
inspiration to people world-wide that they can and should take a
stand against coal fired power stations in defence of the
climate.
Over five days of evidence, Maidstone Crown Court heard
testimony from the world's leading climate scientist, an Inuit
leader from Greenland and the environment adviser to the UK
Conservative party leader. The jury was told that Kingsnorth emits
20,000 tonnes of CO2 every day
- the same amount as the 30 least-polluting countries in the world
combined - and that the Government has advanced plans to build a
new coal-fired power station next to the existing site on the Hoo
Peninsula in Kent.
The 'not guilty' verdict means the jury believed that shutting
down the coal plant was justified in the context of the damage to
property caused around the world by CO2 emissions from Kingsnorth.
"This verdict marks a tipping point for the climate change
movement," said Ben Stewart, one of the defendants. "If jurors from
the heart of Middle England say it's legitimate for a direct action
group to shut down a coal-fired power station because of the harm
it does to our planet, then where does that leave government energy
policy? We have the clean technologies at hand to power our
economy, it's time we turned to them instead of coal."
Another defendant, Emily Hall, said after her acquittal: "This
is a huge blow for Prime Minster Gordon Brown and his plans for new
coal-fired power stations. It wasn't only us in the dock, it was
coal-fired power generation as well. After this verdict, the only
people left in Britain who think new coal is a good idea are
Business Secretary John Hutton and the Energy Minister Malcolm
Wicks. It's time the Prime Minister stepped in, showed some
leadership, and embraced a clean energy future for Britain."
The defence called as a witness Professor James Hansen, a NASA
director who advises Al Gore and is known as the world's leading
climate scientist. Hansen told the court that more than a million
species would be made extinct because of climate change and
calculated that Kingsnorth would proportionally be responsible for
400 of these. "We are in grave peril," he told the jury. He said he
agreed with Al Gore's statement that more people should be chaining
themselves to coal-powered stations. "Somebody needs to step
forward and say there has to be a moratorium, draw a line in the
sand and say no more coal-fired power stations."
Asked by Michael Wolkind QC, for the defence, if carbon dioxide
damages property, Hansen replied, "Yes, it does." Asked if stopping
emissions of any amount of it therefore protects property, he
replied, "Yes it does, in proportion to the amount." He added that
he thought there was an immediate need to protect property at risk
from climate change.
Conservative Party green adviser Zac Goldsmith also gave
evidence for the defence. He told the court: "By building a
coal-power plant in this country, it makes it very much harder in
exerting pressure on countries like China and India. I think that's
something that is felt in Government circles." He later told the
jury: "Legalities aside, I suppose if a crime is intended to
prevent much larger crimes, I think then a lot of people would
consider that as justified and a good thing."
Some of the property the court was told was in immediate need of
protection included parts of Kent at risk from rising sea levels,
the Pacific island state of Tuvalu and areas of Greenland. The
defendants also cited the Arctic ice sheet, China's Yellow River
region, the Larsen B ice shelf in Antarctica, coastal areas of
Bangladesh and the city of New Orleans.
The acquittal is the first case where preventing property damage
from climate change has been used as part of a 'lawful excuse'
defence in court. The defence has previously been successfully
deployed by defendants accused of damaging a military jet bound for
Indonesia to be used in the war against East Timor before
independence.
The defendants had intended to paint 'GORDON BIN IT' down the
side of the chimney but were served a High Court injunction by
police helicopter, meaning they only got as far as painting the
Prime Minister's first name.
Last month a new report by Poyry - Europe's leading energy
consultants - concluded that Britain could meet its energy demands
without new coal. If the UK hit its existing efficiency and
renewables targets it would negate the case for a new coal-fired
power station at Kingsnorth and at least seven other proposed
sites. An earlier Poyry report, published in June, found at least
16 gigawatts of untapped potential from 'Combined Heat and Power'
plants - super-efficient power stations that are popular in
Scandinavia but little used in the UK.
Other contacts: Greenpeace UK press office: +44 207 865 8255
VVPR info: Video and stills of Greenpeace team scaling and painting Kingsnorth smokestack available on request
Notes: Greenpeace 'case against coal' can be found at: http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/media/reports/the-case-against-coal-fired-power-generation