Power to the People at Climate Camp 2008
‘Activists Plot Heathrow Hell’ observed the UK media’s voice of balance and mature reporting, The Sun, in summer 2007. They were referring, of course, to the annual Climate Camp, held last year at Heathrow airport. Climate Camp is a week long Greenham Common type protest which aims to draw attention to the UK’s emission of climate changing gasses.
Last year’s camp got a lot of bad press, partly as a result of an unusual media strategy in which sympathetic reporters were kept penned up, while those undercover were left to do as they pleased. The Evening Standard had a field day, filling front pages with unsubstantiated accusations which, thankfully, the Press Complaints Commission were none too happy about.
This year, Climate Camp will be at Kingsnorth power station in Kent. The current coal fired power station, owned by the German energy giant E On, is reaching the end of its lifespan. Instead of replacing it with a carbon neutral generating facility, however, the powers that be have decided to build another coal fired generator. Coal, according to Greenpeace, emits the most CO2 of any fossil fuel – not great given the Climate Change Bill commits us to reduce emissions by at least 60% by 2050.
The solution, claim the corporations, is Carbon Capture and Storage, or CCS. Instead of being released into the atmosphere, the CO2 produced is pumped safely into the ground. But, as various experts have pointed out in a letter to The Observer, real progress on CCS is occurring at a snail’s pace, and there are as yet no plans to actually incorporate the technology into the Kingsnorth complex.
So what can be done? Attending the camp is certainly a start. Whatever the red tops may tell you, Climate Camp is more than a bunch of hippies lounging in a field. Direct action is an important part of the protest, and on August 9th protestors do plan to close down the power station for a time. But that’s not all the camp is about, and participation in direct action is optional. For most of the week campers will be taking part in discussions and workshops, and even watching green themed films in the solar powered cinema.
So if you’re concerned about climate change, and tired of the garbage peddled by corporations and the government, I guess I’ll be seeing you there.
Climate Camp is at Kingsnorth power station from 3rd – 11th August. For more information check out www.climatecamp.org.uk.
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