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Support the Climate 9
On June 14th, the Climate9 will be tried for Vandalism and Breach of the Peace. To support the Climate9 we set up the Climate9 Defence Committee. This is a wide group of organisations and individuals who support the actions of anti-aviation campaigners who took direct action against airport expansion in Aberdeen in March 2009. These 9 activists now face a court case which could get them years in prison. We believe that the Climate9 should be rewarded for their actions and not...
First a recap on the story so far….
On March 3rd 2009, a group of climate change activists closed down Aberdeen airport, cancelling flights and stopping carbon emissions, preventing an estimated 100 tonnes of dangerous greenhouse gases from reaching the atmosphere. Early in 2010, we launched public campaigns across the UK to highlighting the dangers of aviation's carbon emissions. Through our campaigns and your excellent support, we managed to justify direct action and put our actions into the context of the devastation, misery and death caused by climate change effects. Together we asked questions of a legal system that gives protection to climate criminals whilst threatening climate defenders with prison. We looked at the tactics of the aviation industry, the legal system and the police to deter activists and examined the relationship between these institutions and the implications of their collusion. During our campaign, aided by you, we exposed the lies and hypocrisy of all these institutions and through support from communities affected by airport expansion and climate change, we brought into focus the plight of those suffering from the expansion of aviation and the inability of our political leaders to seriously tackle climate change. We sought and received comments from you for our website and used the comments during the trial to justify our actions as necessary. We held events, campaign launches, public speaking events and supporter rallies in the lead up to the trial and during the trial itself. We got amazing testimony from leading experts such as Geoff Meaden and Alice Bows, who explained how climate change and the expansion of aviation will affect our health our homes and our communities. We set up social networking sites, generating a massive response from our brilliant supporters and we received fantastic and crucial court support during the long two week trial. The group gathered statements of support from a wide range of individuals and groups including people and communities affected by airport expansion in Scotland and communities affected by climate change around the world. Support also came from faith based networks such as the Muslim Council of Scotland, musicians, artists, journalists including international figures such as John Pilger and established organisations like Friends of the Earth. During the trial itself, respected climate change experts offered to give testimony in court and unchallenged evidence of the need for action against climate change was heard by a Scottish jury for the first time, potentially an important milestone in Scots Law. Handbooks, short films and other resources are now being created to share the stories with others on how to build a winning fight in the eyes of the public and the environment no matter how slow the judicial system may be to catch on. Thank you!!!What you can do now?
We have done so much already, building an amazing momentum, but we need to keep that momentum up. We need you to in touch if your organisation, network or group would like us to share strategies and knowledge about the process behind our campaign to stop the expansion of the aviation industry.
There is so much knowledge to be shared as a result of this case, from and legal issues, to public health to popular education and much much more. We can offer talks, workshops or advice and you can help by arranging an event and inviting us to take part. Please contact Dan by phone 07717811747or email dan888glass@gmail.com, or contact Tilly 0771788722, tilly.gifford@gmail.com, or me Jimmy Kerr, 07856799449, jk033446@yahoo.co.uk, if you can help with an event
We still need comments and statements of support on our facebook social networking and climate 9 websites. Any dialogue will be massively appreciated
Money is always handy and the next steps of our campaign work will require sizeable funds. Anything, even if it is a penny or a fiver or a tenner or more, would all be greatly appreciated. Call Mark on 07779254127 or email, markandrews@riseup.net, if you can donate money
Next Steps
As we approach sentencing we need to spread the good word far and wide. Part of this involves writing articles and taking part in events. If you can think of a useful article or are connected to a publication that would be interested in any issues around climate change, direct action, climate justice, social justice or activism and the law, please get in touch. We are preparing a legal book, involving leading human rights lawyers and campaigners about the issues surrounding direct action, climate change, the necessity to act and the law. If you want to take part contact Dan Glass on 07717811747 or email dan888glass@gmail.com, We are also making a film, so if you are a budding Baz Luhrman, or a fledgling Fellini, or you have any expertise in film making, editing or graphic design, or want some training, or just have something to say, then get in touch with me Jimmy Kerr on 07856799449, jk033446@yahoo.co.uk. The climate 9 has also created a motion (see below) that you can take to your group, network or workplace in the form of a resolution. Please feel free to use this and to support the aims and objectives of the climate 9Climate 9 Motion (for you and your organisation to adopt)
The Government stood back while the banks took us out economically. Are the Government also going to stand back while aviation takes the world out? We believe direct action to be of great importance in stopping runaway climate change and its impact on societies health, happiness and sustainability. We resolve to take similar action in defiance of the court system and in support of the Climate9 whatever the outcome of the sentencing.What we want
We want the the courts to pursue climate criminals such as BAA, who are getting away with murdering our ecosystems, causing death and destruction in poor countries and misery for local people living near their Airports. We want the legal system to end it's persecution of climate activists such as the climate 9 and other climate defenders. Most flight destinations can easily be reached by bus, rail and ferry. We want to stop unnecessary short haul flights and airport expansion, stop aviation advertising, and take steps that ensure a just transition to sustainable jobs and transport Climate activists, take action in public and are fully accountable for our actions. We want the police and the aviation industry to be as open, honest and accountable as we are, to stop scare tactics, lies and intimidation and start listening to people concerned about climate change We want an end to government sponsorship of the aviation industry, currently subsidised by the UK taxpayer for £9 Billion a year, subsidies that benefit the wealthiest and that could be used for sustainable transport projects. The IPCC says that current emissions need to be cut by at least 80% by 2050. This target is now a major national commitment, enshrined in both UK and Scottish climate legislation. Yet the UK’s Aviation White Paper and the Scottish Government’s National Planning Framework are both contradictory to climate legislation. As the climate and the future of the biosphere are more important than the expansion of the aviation industry, we demand that the climate legislation is given precedence and enforcedWhat we believe
Climate change is the gravest threat to human survival and the future of our planet and as such, corporations and institutions that continue to emit large volumes of CO2 are committing a crime. We believe that it is climate crimes that should be pursued by the courts and not the climate 9 That climate justice and climate defence are movements inextricably woven with community movements, initiatives and struggles, that forms a wide progressive movement that includes intergenerational justice movements, racial justice movements, global and local poverty struggles and social justice movements, public health and others Thank you once again Jimmy Kerr and all the Climate9 and Miriam Rose; Climate9 Defence Committee www.climate9.com


