Climate Camp

Camp for Climate Action

The Camps for Climate Action are campaign gatherings (similar to peace camps) that take place to draw attention to, and to act as a base for direct action against major carbon emitters, and to develop ways to create a carbon-neutral society. Camps are run on broadly anarchist principles - free to attend, supported by donations and with input from everyone in the community for the day-to-day operation of the camp.

In 2006 a camp took place near Drax power station, in 2007 near Heathrow Airport, and in 2008 near Kingsnorth power station in Medway, Kent.
Preceding the 2007 camp, airport operator BAA sought "the mother of all injunctions" to ban an estimated 5 million people from attending, but succeeded in injunctions against just 3 men and the direct action group Plane Stupid, preventing them entry to the airport.

The camp in August 2008 began with a one day event at Heathrow, followed by a march across London to Kingsnorth power station, in common with seven other camps globally that will be targeting coal.Last year large numbers of people from across the country turned up and helped out at the camp. The camp provided facilities that many of the people needed such as showers, cheap food, internet access, entertainment and medical services.

Kingsnorth 2008

On the 3rd of March, it was announced that the camp in 2008 will be located in Kent, near E.ON's Kingsnorth power station, from the 4th to the 11th of August.

Plan of action

It began with a one day event at Heathrow, where the previous year's climate camp was held, before marching across London to Kingsnorth power station. The first day of action was held in conjunction with seven other camps globally targeting coal across the globe in the summer.

Saturday 9th August was named as the Day of 'Mass Protest and Direct Action', as radical environmentalists confronted E.ON's plans to build another coal-fired power station, which would be the first to be built in thirty years in the UK. The day was organised to highlight the impact on climate change with activists marching to Kingsnorth power station.

The action was also to highlight what is seen as an expansion to the fossil fuel economy, by corporations and government, and what activists claim is a demand of the opposite through scientific consensus. Furthermore, the camp attempted to challenge the businesses which will profit from the agrofuel industry, which they see as false solutions to the problems of climate change.

Police activity around the camp

Following clashes between police and protestors at the periphery of the site, local MP Bob Marshall-Andrews was horrifed by footage, condemning the "provocative and heavy-handed" policing.. MEP Caroline Lucas also condemned police tactics, which included riot police, pepper spray and routine stop and search of everyone entering and leaving the camp.. The police announced to the press that they had found a cache of weapons in nearby woods, which they alleged belonged to those attending the climate change camp. Of particular concern were said to be "a 15in knife, a replica pointed throwing star, grappling irons, shields, kitchen knives and chains", found "hidden in trees and undergrowth around the site." Bizarrely they had also confiscated such dangerous items as a life jacket and a 'War on Terror' board game. Assistant Chief Constable Gary Beautridge stated that while he believed the majority of the Climate Camp protestors to be peaceful, the concealed items raised concerns of a minority of attendees having "more sinister intentions". He added that "There is no justification whatsoever for having these weapons... it is clear to me the plan was to use these items for criminal purposes. Police admitted they had no firm evidence to link the weapons to the camp, and protestors rejected the allegations as a smear campaign. Despite this, one protestor was arrested on August 10th for possession of a bladed instrument amidst 50 other arrests for offences including assaulting a police officer, trespass and obstruction. Four protestors were arrested having breached the perimeter, while 19 others were arrested after scaling the plant's exterior perimeter fence. Many of the protesters and casual visitors were radicalised after witnessing cases of police brutality, oppression and incompetence first hand.

Police Brutality

Police tried to recover 'abandoned' vehicles from the perimeter of the site. The vehicles were owned by residents of the camp. At around 5 am on Monday 4th August police from London charged the site in riot gear. This was the first in a long string of attacks by the police against the site. Here is a video (warning contains strong language and violence)

Heathrow 2007

The 2007 camp ran from August 14 to August 21, 2007 near London Heathrow Airport next to the village of Sipson, which will be replaced by the third runway at Heathrow.

It was preceded by a community arts project run by activists for local residents. The 'Our Place' arts weekend was held on 11 & 12 August at St Mary's Church Hall in Harmondsworth, one of the villages which would be severely affected by the building of a third runway.

Injunction

BAA's proposed injunction would have restricted the movements of 5 million people from 15 different organisations, including the RSPB, Greenpeace, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, the Woodland Trust, Friends of the Earth, and the National Trust, among others. As such the injunction would technically have included the Queen; patron of the RSBP and CPRE, Prince Charles; in his position as President of the National Trust, and even some of BAA's own staff. The ruling was sought under the auspices of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, originally intended to help the victims of stalking, but now frequently used against protesters. If granted, any of the 5 million could have been arrested for failing to give BAA 24 hours notice of their presence in the following locations:

near Heathrow
at Paddington Station
on the Piccadilly Line of the London Underground
parts of the M25
parts of the M4

Those injuncted from entering Heathrow Airport during the camp included:

John Stewart, chairman of the anti-Heathrow expansion group HACAN
Joss Garman, co-founder of Plane Stupid
Leo Murray, activist with Plane Stupid
The group Plane Stupid

Day of Action

On the 19th August the camp culminated in a day of direct action, incorporating between 1000-1400 people, depending on the source. The main protest was a blockade of BAA HQ by around 200 people. Other targets included Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk, the headquarters of BP in London, two carbon offset companies, Climate Care and the Carbon Neutral Company, British Airways world cargo centre, and Bridgepoint Capital, responsible for the Leeds-Bradford Airport expansion. 58 people were arrested.

Controversies

Policing

Policing for the camp was estimated to have cost £7 million by Scotland Yard, though this included £4.3m for costs such as salaries which would have been spent anyway. The Evening Standard however put the costs at £70 million, though it is not known how this figure was reached.

In 2007 the police made preventive searches under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. The camp was heavily attended by a force of 1,800 police, who carried out searches, including some vehicles, under the Terrorism Act 2006 Section 44 and took photos of protesters entering and leaving the camp.. On Sunday August 19 there were scuffles between protesters and police officers outside the offices of BAA at Heathrow, which were being targeted in a day of direct action by some of the protesters.

Journalistic access

In relation to the 2007 the National Union of Journalists issued a public statement expressing "deep concern" over the Camp's policy toward media access during its 2007 event.. The camp media team replied to the NUJ criticism by stating: "The policy is a compromise that attempts to provide reasonable media access whilst respecting participants' right to privacy".. On 9th August 2007 the media policy was changed removing any possibility of blacklisting some journalists or giving sympathetic journalists longer access .

Drax 2006

The camp was on a squatted site, situated close to several large power stations including Drax, a coal-fired power station which is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide in the UK .

Over one hundred and sixty workshops ran throughout the camp, sharing practical skills on living sustainably, on subjects such as the science of climate change, environmental justice and the effects of climate change on people in the global South, corporate 'climate criminals', direct action, children's workshops, and many more.

Music was turned off after 11pm to allow campaigners to sleep. But on the last Monday of the camp music was allowed much later.

Day of action

On August 31 2006, up to 600 people attended a protest called Reclaim Power converging on Drax and attempting to shut it down. There was a 'kids march' to Drax Power Station, with a giant ostrich puppet, made by the The Mischief Makers. Two protesters climbed a lighting pylon at the edge of the Drax site and four others broke through the fence . At least 3,000 police officers, from 12 forces from as far afield as Hampshire and London, were reported to have been drafted in for the duration of the protest. Thirty-eight protesters were arrested. The police reported that work at the power plant was not disrupted, though eye witnesses reported having locked-on to various machinery inside the power station, thus stopping work. No coal went into Drax that day, with the railway line in being blocked off.

Other protests arising from the camp included a protest against a nuclear power station in Hartlepool, Teesside. .

Media response

The Guardian reported that the Camp marked a turning point in grass-roots campaigning against the causes of climate change . The network forged at the Camp continues to work on campaigns to highlight and tackle the causes of Climate Change, participating in actions drawing attention to (for example) road building and the climate effects of cheap air travel . Days of climate action on different themes have been called by this Network for Climate Action

General

Camps seek to set an example of what a sustainable society might be like. Decision making is by consensus and much of the material used to created structures for the camp is reclaimed waste from building sites which would otherwise have been sent to a landfill.

Catering

Claiming that "livestock is a major threat to environment all food is vegan, mostly organic and locally sourced to minimise food miles, provided by communal neighbourhood kitchens, many associated with the Social Centres Network.

Communications

In 2007 a satellite up-link was installed, together with a media tent with ten lap-top computers, this was also used to send media to the press as well as Indymedia UK.

Energy

Power for lighting, radios, mobile phones, sound equipment and laptop computers was supplied by solar panels and a wind turbine. Biodiesel from recycled cooking oil was available for other vehicles. Cooking used conventional propane cylinders..

Future events

Climate camp related events are being planned for 2008 in Australia, the UK, Germany and the USA.

Planning

The camps are organised through the preceding year with a series of monthly meetings, previously held in Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford, Leeds, Bristol, London, and Talamnh (near Glasgow). Anyone is welcome to attend a planning meeting and to join one of the working groups. There were no 'leaders' and meetings used consensus decision making. Camps are run entirely by volunteers and are funded by private donations.

Sanitation

Compost toilets, comprehensive recycling, grey water systems and a pedal-powered laundries.

Soundsystems

In 2008, a new sound system made its first appearance at climate camp. the system was made from recycled matereals that have all been reclaimed at minimal cost except the battery. during the stop serches the battery was dropped and damaged yet the sound system still worked throughout the camp. this soundsystem mainly played reggae/lovers rock and dubstep up at gate 5 through out the night and during the raids. the soundsystem is powerd by a 12 volt leasure battery that was charged useing solar power. a car amp was used to power the speackers (2 tweeters and 1 8 inch mid and 1 8 inch bass driver) the system was mono and the amp was bridged. the sound system was built by Onedread and Dec.

Son of pedals sound system was another sound system at climate camp Video

Structures

The site of the camp is divided into loosely bounded 'neighbourhoods' or 'barrios', most corresponding to geographic region (one exception being the queer barrio of the 2006 camp). Daily consensus based meetings are held in each neighbourhood, and delegates sent to a central meeting. It is considered to be in the nature of the camp that organisational structures are loose and reflexive, so as to be open to change if they are not seen to be effective or efficient.