Action: Days of action

Largest UK anti-airport protest in history - 18 events for 12 UK airports during Stay Grounded Global Days of Action - "Stop Greenwashing – Reduce Air Traffic Now!"

Submitted by lrt2 on Sun, 11/28/2021 - 17:16

On the 5th and 6th of November 2021, aviation protest actions across the globe coordinated by Stay Grounded, called for an end to aviation’s greenwashing and an effective reduction of air traffic. The diverse protests were part of a Global Day of Action called by the https://cop26coalition.org/gda/  a UK-based civil society grouping, mobilising around climate justice during COP26, the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow. In addition to the 18 events for 12 UK expanding airports, protests also took place in Mexico, Nepal, Germany and France.

Aviation is the most climate-damaging form of transport and one of the worst examples of climate injustice, so nobody should be fooled by attempts to greenwash aviation. New technologies and so-called ‘sustainable’ fuels will take decades to be used on commercial, long haul flights – and it is these flights that cause the vast majority of aviation’s climate wrecking emissions. (Check out 5 Greenwashing Factsheets here:- https://stay-grounded.org/greenwashing ). Research shows that relying on techno-fixes will not decarbonise the aviation sector rapidly enough to stay below the globally agreed 1.5 degrees C limit; and the UK government’s advisory body, the Climate Change Committee, recommends NO net expansion of UK airports and has repeatedly warned the government that technological solutions alone will be insufficient to make the aviation sector even net zero by 2050. Yet, every UK airport has plans to expand. 

In this context we took to the fields and streets to counter greenwashing and aviation expansion. In what rapidly became a full Week of Action, Rising Tide UK co-ordinated the Stay Grounded activities in the UK for airports at:  Bristol, Doncaster-Sheffield, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, Leeds-Bradford, London-City, Luton, Liverpool, Manchester, Southampton and Stanstead. Our press spokesperson Ray Stewart said:-
  "We warn that trusting yet-to-be-developed technology to reduce climate-wrecking emissions is an extreme risk we cannot afford to take. Instead, we demand immediate action be taken to prevent aviation growth to cut associated emissions, for us to stand any chance of remaining within 1.5C.”

18 events for 12 UK airports showed what happens when we get together and co-ordinate united action around common themes under the Stay Grounded UK Chapter umbrella. So well done to those groups that took part and thanks to those who acted as group spokespeople, took photo's and did techy stuff. Lets have more groups covering more airports next time! We encourage those groups to visit https://stay-grounded.org/how-to-become-a-member/ .

Here's a round-up of what happened and where, with media links of which we're aware.

RisingTideUK COP26 Update #7

Submitted by thebrentc on Tue, 11/16/2021 - 17:09

As you may know traditionally Rising Tide UK has opposed the UN-IPCC COP climate talks process from Kyoto onward as we don't think the solutions we need will come from governments, let alone in the speed we need them - but we decided to join the COP26Coalition (of UK civil society) as this COP is in the UK and to maybe add to the more radical voices within it, organising around COP26 in Glasgow and beyond. Toothless Paris Accord voluntary Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) are currently still 24bn tonnes short of preventing 1.5C heating and on course for 3C+. 6 years past the Paris Accord, climate finance reparation $100bn a year promises remain unfullfilled without any clear intention to provide financial support for "Global South" low emitting countries and island states about to be literally submerged.

Below is our latest attempt of summarising the current Coalition & COP status. Feel free to use and spread wildly (that was supposed to be widely but actually we'd prefer wildly).
If you're not travelling to Glasgow then worldwide there are demo's and marches etc happening on the 5th & 6th November linked below that you can get involved with but there is always an option to get together with your friends and pull off an action of your own targetting carbon infrastructure and their greenwash shenanigens. Some help here: http://www.networkforclimateaction.org.uk/

Plenty of false solutions abound especially those inherent in Article 6 discussion at the COP which is pretty nailed-on to see government acceptance and support for carbon business as usual offsetting (particularly within the aviation sector with COP sanctioned CORSIA); in all its guises like the attachment of tradable market mechanisms to "Nature Based" and "Natural Climate" "Solutions"; also the bogus radioactive head of nuclear power elbowing-in for a last gasp attempt.

SEE BELOW FOR DAY BY DAY COP26 CALENDAR & ALL THE DETAILS AND LINKS YOU NEED!

STAY GROUNDED LAUNCH : WEEKS OF ACTION :4thOCT'18 - SOLIDARITY RALLY at #NoToHeathrow COURT HEARING

Submitted by lrt2 on Wed, 10/17/2018 - 19:04

Members of Stay Grounded:- RisingTideUK, Biofuelwatch, Reclaim the Power, Vote No Heathrow and the No3rd Runway Coalition joined more than 100 others for a morning of music, speeches and solidarity outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London from 9am to show the government and Heathrow Airport Ltd what we thought of their irresponsible and dangerous plans to expand the airport.
The hearing determined that all of the legal claims against Heathrow’s expansion will go to a full Judicial Review (of the National Policy Statement on Airports - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/airports-national-policy-sta… )by 2 judges for 2 weeks from the 11th or 18th of March in 2019.
There were 5 submissions: Local Authorities backed by Greenpeace and Mayor of London; Heathrow Hub, the rival expansion scheme; one by a resident impacted by Heathrow; Plus Friends of the Earth (EW&NI); and Plan B (both of these 2 specifically on grounds that the government has failed to deliver an effective plan to tackle the climate change implications of expansion).
The UK Government has argued that the Paris Agreement does not impose “a legal duty or obligation… to ensure that no more than these maximum temperature increases [1.5°C to 2°C] are reached”. This claim implies that because it is not against the law to bring about dangerous levels of climate change, the government is under no obligation to protect people from such threats. Plan B argued that Chris Grayling, the Transport Minister, has failed to give proper consideration to the impact Heathrow expansion would have on the Government’s ability to meet targets for avoiding catastrophic climate change. Grounds of claim brought by others include noise, traffic congestion and air pollution.
Tim Crosland, Director of Plan B, said:-
“This Government seems to believe that tackling the climate crisis means sticking to ‘business as usual’ with a sprinkling of ‘greenwash’ promises that improved future technology will come to the rescue. That’s fantasy politics and it’s grossly irresponsible. If we want to safeguard the climate stability on which we all depend, we need less emissions, not more; and we need a Government committed to investing in the cleanest forms of transport, not the most polluting kind. The broad coalition of devolved government and civil society lining up against the Government, is proof that this is not a political issue, it’s a coalition for the future of life on earth – one that everyone can get behind.”
John McDonnell, Labour Party, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, MP for Heathrow constituency Hayes & Harlington (most of which would be destroyed) - called for Direct Action, warning that if the democratic and legal processes fail, then direct action will win and that the third runway must not be built for the sake of the planet. Others echoed the call for Direct Action against Climate Change including RisingTideUK; a VoteNoHeathrow hunger striker and from Rising Up's Extinction Rebellion.
RisingTideUK also told of the International dimension and the launch of Stay Grounded. They said:-
"This week saw the launch of Stay Grounded an International Network offering solidarity to resist expansion around the planet. We are aviation and climate campaigners, NGO's, academics, trade unionists, frontline & indigenous communities, transport workers and affected residents - working for a just transition.
Aviation, one of the fastest growing GHG sources, in 2017 growing 7% with freight up 9% (doubling in 10 & 7 years respectively). There is a wave of global expansion with over 1000 new projects: 423 new airports; 121 new runways; 205 runway extensions; 262 new terminals and 175 new terminal extensions! Stay Grounded have launched a position paper outlining "13 Steps for a Just Transport System & for Rapidly Reducing Aviation and we urge you to join the 120 organisations that have signed-up to support it. This week and next are Weeks of Action on aviation infrastructure with open events organised in 15 countries and maybe some clandestine actions too? Resistance is worldwide: from Turkey where ancient forest is threatened with a new Istanbul Aerotropolis; Kenya, Nairobi Airport, where the Masai have been forced off grazing land held for millennia ; Indonesia, where homes destroyed while people were at work; and Austria, where Vienna's 3rd runway was ruled out by a regional court on climate change grounds, then overturned by a higher one.
So there's "Law" and "Justice". Different. Lets see which prevails today? International aviation emissions are not included in the UK Climate Change Act or the Paris Agreement but the Talanoa Dialogue Pacific Islands initiative may try to ensure that they are. The UK Government is trying to use the space in the UK emissions count set aside for future International aviation emissions, to justify and allow Heathrow expansion. 10 years ago the last UK Planning Act paved the way for the Infrastructure Planning Commission - through which all major infrastructure projects like Heathrow and Hinkley C (nuclear power station) now bypass local democracy. At the time Friends of the Earth said it stripped away 100 civil rights to protest, leaving only 2, the Law and Direct Action. Today we'll see if there are still 2? Also 10 years ago, John McDonnell, then a backbench MP, said the campaign to stop Heathrow Expansion would not be won without Direct Action. He was right then and he still is.".

Stay Grounded Network Weeks of Action enjoyed 27 events in over a dozen countries in 3 continents, that we so far know about https://stay-grounded.org/action-weeks/ .
Find some photos on flickr https://www.flickr.com/gp/164860673@N04/EfNB56
and a video clip on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/StayGroundedNetwork/videos/1212273742244823/?_…
"McDonnell calls for Direct Action" https://realmedia.press/stop-heathrow/
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/protesters-take-stand-environme…
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/heathrow-airport-t…

4thOct18:-SOLIDARITY RALLY at #NoToHeathrow COURT HEARING- STAY GROUNDED LAUNCH Weeks of Action

Submitted by lrt2 on Mon, 10/01/2018 - 19:57

RisingTideUK will be joining others for a morning of music, speeches and solidarity outside the Royal Courts of Justice, The Strand, from 9am to show the government and Heathrow Airport Ltd what we think of their irresponsible and dangerous plans. The hearing will determine whether some or all of the 6 legal claims against Heathrow’s expansion will go to a full trial in 2019. For those of you who must dabble on the dark side there is a FB event. This Rally falls within the Stay Grounded fortnight of Aviation Actions. https://www.facebook.com/events/248337659159577/
“STAY GROUNDED” SUPPORTING STATEMENT
RisingTideUK are Founder Members of the Stay Grounded Network, launched today and have joined with more than 110 organisations worldwide to support a position paper from Stay Grounded, outlining 13 steps for a transition towards a transport system that is more socially just and ecologically sustainable. This growing global network is working to curb the unrestrained expansion of the aviation sector which is causing ever increasing damage to the climate, to biodiversity and local residents. The network is made up of local airport opposition groups and frontline communities, NGOs, trade unionists, academics, climate justice activists and groups supporting alternatives like night trains. From 1st-12th October 2018, Stay Grounded action weeks take place in more than 15 countries around the world. They will show that resistance against new airport infrastructure and aviation growth is rising. The network and these actions will send a message to policy makers and the industry, rejecting the greenwashed aviation pseudo-strategies being fostered right now, like CORSIA, carbon trading and tanked biofuels. Please join RisingTideUK to support Stay Grounded, and follow its facebook and twitter accounts: @staygrounded3

JOIN US ON LE-TOUR-DE-FRACK (South-East), Saturday 23rd June 2018

Submitted by lrt2 on Wed, 05/23/2018 - 20:13

We would love you to join us for:-
LE TOUR-DE-FRACK - a day of Anti-fracking activist & family-friendly cycle rides in Surrey & W.Sussex
When: Assemble from 9.30am for 10am, Saturday 23rd June. https://www.facebook.com/events/1629452990496106/
What: 3 levels of cycle "Tours" around South-East Oil & Gas Drilling Sites.
Where: Dorking Meadowbank Community Park - with info,refreshments,face painting,badge-making and to send off the cyclists.
Who: You. plus your bike if you're cycling! Please bring food & drink. Wear appropriate clothing and bring your antifrackers style!
How: Trains to Dorking from London Waterloo and Victoria, Brighton and elsewhere, then on yer bike or head to the Leith Hill Protection Camp or one of the other stops.
Register for a ride by signing-up at Eventbrite https://tinyurl.com/y74t75b4

GET ON TRACK FOR ANTIFRACK SUNDAY 25th MARCH

Submitted by lrt2 on Fri, 02/23/2018 - 19:32

UNFORTUNATELY TOMORROW'S EVENT (FRIDAY 2nd MARCH) HAS BEEN POSTPONED
due to adverse weather conditions and transport unreliabilities, but, if you are in the vicinity of Leith Hill Camp you are welcome to drop in, especially if carrying firewood and food!
https://leithhillprotectioncamp.co.uk/ Please try and come next time which is:-

When: 11am-6pm-ish, Sunday 25th March.
What: South-East Anti-Fracking Site "Tour".
Where: Meet outside Dorking Station at Antifrackers banner.
Who: You! Please bring food & flask. Wear warm waterproof clothing with stout footwear (its muddy!).
How: Trains from London Waterloo and Victoria. Pick-up to Leith Hill , Horse Hill, Brockham, Balcombe and Broadford Bridge.
RSVP AT:-
https://www.facebook.com/events/605353503140115/
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/solidarity-sunday-and-tour-of-weald-dril…
Or email NILS.RESPONSE@RISEUP.NET if you hate data harvesters ;-p.
Along with the usual Leith Hill Protection Camp Solidarity Saturday, there's a chance there could be a Public Meeting on the 24th. Maybe make a weekend of it and camp overnight at Coldharbour?
Following the successful RisingTide/RtP Gathering we're endeavouring to help activists & residents near local sites to see how best we can support local communities in opposing the fracking threat in the South-East, throughout 2018 and beyond (look out for a Tour-de-Frack too). We'll visit Leith Hill Protection Camp and there may be work going on at some of the sites at the time, with a chance for optional "investigations". Any logistical problems on the day 'phone 07549-018610. If you can help with transport please let us know.

Bristol Rising Tide and local activists block storage yard of Cuadrilla’s fracking drill rig.

Submitted by brt on Sat, 07/15/2017 - 15:01

For immediate release: 13 July 2017
For photos contact press@nodashforgas.org
Photos available via Reclaim the Power Flickr
Contact: 07404 016676

Today Protesters have blockaded the entrance to PR Marriott, a company providing the drilling rig for Cuadrilla’s fracking site at Preston New Road. The drilling rig is expected to be transported from PR Marriott’s storage yard near Chesterfield any day now.

The Big Rig Revolt in Bath

Submitted by brt on Sun, 12/16/2012 - 19:14

The Big Rig Revolt – Getting ‘Fracktious’ in Bath

Saturday 1st of December and all over the country ordinary people joined together to show their resistance to the threat of extreme energy.

Frack Free Somerset and Bristol Rising Tide hit the streets of Bath, dressed once more as ‘Frack the World Inc.’. 20 people met at Kingsmead Square, built a mini-fracking rig and performed street theatre, made some noise and talked to people to raise awareness of the this mad dash for gas.

The Big Rig Revolt – Sat 1st Dec

Submitted by brt on Tue, 11/13/2012 - 00:23

A dark cloud is gathering. The threat of unconventional gas development hangs over us all. With almost 100 test wells permitted and the first production development threatening Scotland, the government’s dash for gas depends on the creeping sell off of the British Isles.

This cabal of opportunistic extraction companies, government mandarins and political jokes think they are getting away with it. They are so FRACKING wrong.

On Dec 1st there will be a nationwide simultaneous show of resistance.