James Hansen in conversation outside Maidstone Crown Court © Rezac/Greenpeace
I blogged bits of Hansen's spoken testimony on the day he gave it, but here's his written witness statement in full (pdf).
If you don't want to read through the whole thing, here are the summary facts (known, as Hansen writes, "by the UK government, by the utility
EON, by the fossil fuel industry, and by the defendants at the time of
their actions in 2007"):
(1) Tipping Points: the climate system is dangerously
close to tipping points that could have disastrous consequences for
young people, life and property, and general well-being on the planet
that will be inherited from today’s elders.
(2) Coal’s Dominant Role: Coal is the fossil fuel most
responsible for excess CO2 in the air today, and coal reserves contain
much more potential CO2 than do oil or gas. Coal is the fossil fuel
that is most susceptible to either (a) having the CO2 captured and
sequestered if coal is used in power plants, or (b) leaving the coal in
the ground, instead emphasizing use of cleaner fuels and energy
efficiency.
(3) Recognized Responsibilities: The UK is one of the
nations most responsible for human-made CO2 in the air today, indeed,
on a per capita basis it is the most responsible of all nations that
are major emitters of CO2. This fact is recognized by developing
countries, making it implausible that they would consider altering
their plans for coal use if the UK plans to continue to rely on
coal-fired power.
(4) Recognized Impacts of Climate Change: The UK
government, EON, and the fossil fuel industry were aware of the likely
impacts of continuation of coal emissions, specifically impacts on
future sea level, extinctions of animal and plant species, and regional
climate effects, i.e., they were all aware that their actions would
contribute to these adverse impacts, leaving a more impoverished planet
for today’s young people and the unborn.
(5) Greenwash: Governments, utilities, and the fossil
fuel industry have presented public faces acknowledging the importance
of climate change and claiming that they are taking appropriate
actions. Yet the facts, as shown in this document, contradict their
claims. Construction of new coal-fired power plants makes it
unrealistic to hope for the prompt phase-out of coal emissions and thus
makes it practically impossible to avert climate disasters for today’s
young people and future generations.
Recognition of these basic facts by the defendants, realization that
the facts were also known by the government, utility, and fossil fuel
industry, and realization that the actions needed to protect life and
property of the present and future generations were not being taken
undoubtedly played a role in the decision of the defendants to act as
they did.
