JAIL THE MESSENGER? Panel discussion with environmental litigation expert Tim Crosland ahead of his trial in the Supreme Court
April 30, 2021 by Extinction Rebellion
Please RSVP to attend: lola@climatekeys.com
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On Sunday 2nd May from 2-3.30pm GMT ClimateKeys and Extinction Rebellion’s Arts & Culture Group will host a panel discussion with former barrister and director of climate litigation charity Plan B, Tim Crosland. [1]
The event is an opportunity to hear from Tim ahead of his trial in the Supreme Court on Monday 10th May. In December last year, the Supreme Court overturned a previous decision by the Court of Appeal blocking the expansion of Heathrow Airport because it failed to comply with the Paris Climate Agreement, ruling instead that the project did not need to comply with the international climate agreement reached in 2015. Knowing he was in contempt of court, Tim broke an overnight press embargo on the Court’s decision, publishing a statement to “protest the deep immorality of the ruling.” [2] [3]
In his statement at the time, Tim said: “The Paris Temperature Limit is all that divides us from a grim future of crisis upon crisis. The Government was right to accept the Court of Appeal’s verdict. The Supreme Court’s judgment, which has legitimised Mr Grayling’s use of the deadly 2˚C threshold, has betrayed us all.” [4]
The Government has since launched proceedings to commit Tim to prison for his protest which he had carried out to shine a light on government plans to breach the Paris Agreement. Tim faces up to two years in prison for breaking the embargo. This follows over three years of legal proceedings against the expansion of Heathrow by Plan B. [5] [6]
According to the Government’s own figures, Heathrow expansion would mean 40 million tonnes of CO2 by 2050 from UK aviation alone. This is incompatible with legally binding environmental targets to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. [7]
‘Jail the Messenger?’ features Tim Crosland in discussion with a panel of campaigners concerned and directly affected by the impacts of the climate emergency joining from Namibia, the US and the UK. The panel is an unfunded live online panel discussion with poetry, live music and audience conversation hosted by ClimateKeys and Extinction Rebellion’s Arts & Culture Group. There will also be an opportunity for questions from the audience.
“Without acts of resistance where would we be?
From a specially written poem by April de Angelis which she will read as part of the event
Who would we be?”
Full list of panel members joining Tim Crosland:
Margaret Angula (climate change adaptation researcher and activist – joining from Windhoek, Namibia)
Margin Zheng (undergraduate composer and pianist, climate change activist with a focus on maginalised communities, Chinese American active in Sunrise Movement, joining from Haverford, USA)
Todd Smith (Airline pilot turned aviation campaigner – UK)
Nina Vinther (Classical music aviation campaigner – UK)
Alice English (Sky Rebellion coordinator – UK)
Jon Fuller (A climate campaigner with 40 years’ experience involved across multiple campaigns – UK)
Phil Maxwell & Hazuan Hashim (Liverpool activist filmmaker covering local airport campaigning – UK)
April de Angelis (acclaimed National Theatre playwright and activist) will read a specially written poem and the event will conclude with a live music performance by Dan Spanner (musician & activist).
Moderated by writer and art curator Dr Rob La Frenais.
Created and hosted by contemporary composer and ClimateKeys founder Lola Perrin.
Please RSVP to attend: lola@climatekeys.com
Advance notice: Tim Crosland’s appearance at the Supreme Court will be on 10th May. ClimateKeys and Extinction Rebellion’s Arts & Culture Group will be hosting an all day, online marathon entitled ‘Rolling Justice’. There will be readings by actors and activists performing historic speeches, ancient codes, landmark manifestos and protest poems that highlight the role law can play in guaranteeing human rights and preventing injustices. A further press release will be forthcoming. Enquiries to lola@climatekeys.com
Notes to editors
[1] Climate Keys: http://www.climatekeys.com
[2] Personal Statement on the Supreme Court’s Heathrow verdict: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HxxC4TQgHh_haFkikww74CBhwgYaKfu1Nooi9NwKJns/edit
[3] Top UK court overturns block on Heathrow’s third runway: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/16/top-uk-court-overturns-block-on-heathrows-third-runway
[4] Supreme Court betrays young and Global South:https://planb.earth/supreme-court-betrays-young-and-global-south/
[5] Government applies to send Plan B Director to prison: https://planb.earth/government-applies-to-send-plan-b-director-to-prison/
[6] Plan B v Heathrow Expansion: https://planb.earth/plan-b-v-heathrow-expansion/
[7] Plan B’s statement of case (SoC), paras 68ff: https://planb.earth/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/SC-Plan-B-case-final.pdf
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Time has almost entirely run out to address the ecological crisis which is upon us, including the 6th mass species extinction, global pollution, and increasingly rapid climate change. If urgent and radical action isn’t taken, we’re heading towards 4˚C warming, and the societal collapse and mass loss of life that that implies. The younger generation, racially marginalised communities and the Global South are on the front-line. No-one will escape the devastating impacts.
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