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Hi there,
It was quite a sight: under a wintry sun, a flotilla of Greenpeace boats headed down the Medway this morning, straight towards Kingsnorth power station. The Rainbow Warrior led the nine vessel armada, with the other boats streaming out behind in a V formation.
Just before noon they anchored off the site's 700m long coal jetty, and dozens of climate activists disembarked to peacefully protest against energy utility E.on's plans to build the UK's first new coal plant for 30 years on the site.
Carrying the flags of 30 countries (because the combined emissions of the 30 countries represented will be equal to the projected emissions from just this single new coal power station), the campaigners intended to make their way through the existing power station to the site of the new one, but were prevented from doing so by E.on security staff. Instead, they held a calm ceremony on the jetty for the victims of climate change, bearing witness to the environmental and social destruction E.on's proposed new plant would wreak.
At the same time six protesters occupied a small concrete island just yards off the main site. The sextet include Will Rose and Ben Stewart, two members of the Kingsnorth Six, who were tried but acquitted last month of causing criminal damage to the power station's chimney stack. They have a projector with them and intend to spend the night beaming images of climate change disasters on to Kingsnorth's 220-metre smoke stack.
Kingsnorth 2, as it's known, is just the first of eight new coal plants in planning in Britain. To date the government seems to be backing the construction, yet if they go ahead, our chances of beating climate change will be dashed. Those that will suffer most are likely to be in developing countries, which will bear the brunt of our energy companies' penchant for burning coal because it makes them more profits, instead of using clean and renewable energy sources that are ready to go.
The protest marked the culmination of the Rainbow Warrior's two week 'Give Coal the Boot' visit to the UK, during which time she has played host to hundreds of activists, artists, politicians, Greenpeace supporters and members of the public - all concerned about the dangers to the climate posed by a new coal age. You can read about the tour in more detail via our Rainbow Warrior tour updates.
What you can do
Every week, more and more people are standing together and saying NO to new coal in the UK: development groups, faith groups, environment groups, unions, politicians of all shades, scientists and, of course, thousands of UK citizens.
Now, Ed Miliband’s new department has a real opportunity to do the right thing and invest in clean, renewable energy sources, creating a million new green collar jobs, ensuring that the lights don’t go out, and cutting carbon emissions.
If you haven't already, please write to him and say NO to new coal, and sign up on the Greenpeace UK web site to Give Coal the Boot. Demand a clean energy future instead!
Thanks for your support,
Bex Sumner
29 October 2008
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