climate change

How the Sunday Times reported the story

'BAA to give up on third runway' ran the headline in this weekend's Sunday Times and with the recent good news about Kingsnorth delay, there was a moment when I thought it was my Christmas and birthday presents rolled in to one. But unpick the details and unfortunately it's not quite the prize it appears to be.

After spending the night on top of the Palace of Westminster, all the Greenpeace volunteers who took our 'Change the politics, save the climate' message to the heart of our democracy have been arrested, and are now in various stages of the process of being bailed and released.

Talking to some of the activists who put their liberty at risk to demand that politicians get serious about tackling climate change, it’s obvious that they are not attention seeking troublemakers, as some in the media try to portray them. Over fifty people from all walks of life, nationalities, and aged from early 20s to over 70, felt compelled to take action. Reasonable people like you and me who perhaps a year ago wouldn't have considered climbing up there. Why? Because time to act is running out and our politicians, for all their fine words, are still stuck in their old ruts - essentially fiddling while Rome burns.

After spending the night on top of the Palace of Westminster, Greenpeace activists laid out a banner on the roof, visible to MPs returning for the new Parliamentary session. Its message "Change the politics, save the climate", is a reminder that time to act is running out, and that we desperately need politicians who are willing to rise above the dogmas of party politics and actively meet the greatest challenge of our time.

A little while ago, I spoke to two of the volunteers who are camped up on top of the Houses of Parliament to find out how they were getting on. Louise explains the challenge of getting up there:

And Christian answers some questions posed by followers on Twitter:

Update, Monday 7pm: after nearly 28 hours on top of the Palace of Westminster, the remaining 31 volunteers have been been taken into police custody after ending their protest peacefully. Thanks to everyone who's been supporting them!

Update, Monday am: 31 volunteers are still ocuppying the roof this morning, 24 came down last night and were arrested and all have been bailed to return.

Fifty-five Greenpeace volunteers scaled the walls of the Houses of Parliament and are now occupying the roof to call for a new style of politics in Britain, one capable of rising to meet the challenge of climate change.

Tomorrow MPs return from their summer break and the government's own Committee on Climate Change will publish a progress report on UK carbon emissions. They make it clear that Britain is not doing enough to meet its commitments, and insist that a "step change" in emissions cuts is needed. With just 60 days go until the critical climate summit in Copenhagen - which faces a very real chance of failure as things stand - Britain has yet to show true commitment to making the process a success. We need politicians who are thinking about the next generation, not just the next election.

Watch the slideshow of images from parliament »