My Summer of Carbon Rage

My summer of carbon rage

The iniquities of emissions trading will bring thousands of
protesters to the climate camp in the City of London

Kevin Smith. Weds 25th Feb 2009

In Monday's Guardian, Julian Glover drew parallels between carbon
trading and the notoriously corrupt practice of the Medieval church
in selling pardons. He concluded by calling for "a modern Martin
Luther to nail a shaming truth to industry's door: Europe's whizz-
bang carbon market is turning sub-prime."

Good news: The Camp for Climate Action intends to bring the failure
of carbon markets centre-stage this year. On the 1st of April
thousands will set up camp in the City of London outside the
European Climate Exchange – the biggest trading platform for the EU
Emissions Trading Scheme.

It may seem like a strange place to set up camp, as there is no field
nor obvious target like a dirty power station or a proposed runway.
Yet, for the past two years thousands of people have camped against
new carbon-intensive developments, like the proposed coal-fired power
station at Kingsnorth, and Heathrow's Runway 3, and each time have
been confronted by government and industry stating that these
developments are justified because carbon-emissions permits will be
bought by the companies.

Is the EU trading scheme so bad? Phase 1 of the scheme gave away the
right to pollute for free. Bingo! The biggest polluters then made
billions in windfall profits. Phase 2 and in the wake of market
meltdown, the price of carbon is again at rock-bottom. The EU scheme
is providing all manner of opportunities to pollute and make money,
which is why companies from e.on to BP to BAA are all supporters. As
a mechanism to reduce emissions it has been an out and out failure.

Carbon markets have been aggressively promoted as a solution to
climate change, because of its compatibility with the market-obsessed
economic agenda of recent decades. In short, include a price on the
climate change impacts from emitting carbon, and the market will
solve the problem. Yet the financial crisis has shown that markets
can, and do, get it spectacularly wrong. Of course, on climate, if
markets fail nature will not bail us out.

The Climate Camp's plans to target the carbon markets on the 1st of
April were among those protests that were described in today's
Guardian by Superintendent David Hartshorn as kick-starting a "summer
of rage". Let's hope so, as climate change is a serious threat to our
future and people are right to feel enraged that governments are
failing to address the crisis. We do need to reduce emissions and
carbon markets are not achieving this.

Of course, Superintendent Hartshorn does not mean this, he is using
the recession-provoked threat of social-unrest to justify
increasingly draconian policing of protest in the UK.

This has been exemplified by the attacks on the Climate Camp over the
years. In 2007 our Heathrow protest apparently required some £7
million of policing and surveillance. Anti-terror laws were used
against us, until it was picked up by the media and exposed. In
2008, our Kingsnorth protest required an almost £6 million operation
and violent incursions by riot police. The home office told
parliament that 70 officers had been injured while dealing with the
protesters. This was a lie. The real number was zero. The home office
apologised for misleading parliament. Yet, we know of no police
investigation to find out who lied to Vernon Coaker, Home Office
minister.

And 2009? We will see what happens. But on past evidence it is fair
to conclude that the police will misrepresent those who protest about
climate change on April 1st. Superintendent Hartshorn's comments are
yet more evidence, as former Head of MI5 Stella Rimmington puts it,
that people in the UK are made to feel that "live in fear and under a
police state". The April 1st protest in the square mile will be
about carbon markets, and it seems democracy itself.

Rebelling Opera Theater

Greece: Occupation of the Opera House of Athens

Rebelling Opera Theater

December's rebellion, while drawing strength from all previous social
struggles, laid the ground for a generalized resistance against
everything that offends us and enslaves our lives. It triggered a
fight for life that is being disparaged on a daily basis. As an answer
to those who understand rebellion as a short lived firecracker, and
discard and undermine it by simply saying "life goes on", we say that
the struggle not only continues but has already set our lives on a new
basis. Nothing is finished; our rage perseveres. Our agony has not
subsided; we are still here. Rebellion in the streets, in schools and
universities, in labor unions, municipal buildings and parks.
Rebellion also in art.

Against art as a spectacle that is consumed by passive viewers.

Against aesthetics that exclude the 'different'.

Against a culture that destroys parks and public space in the name of
profit.

We unite our voices with all those in struggle.

In solidarity with Konstantina Kouneva and those arrested during the
rebellion.

With our struggle and our own culture, we respond to state oppression,
social exclusion and to the attempts of the mass media to terrorize
and misinform.

With this initiative that originated in the 'Arts' (considering
everybody's life as art), we re-claim a space for the art of living of
each and everyone to unfold and for exploring the reformation of
culture. We aspire to an unmediated art; open and accessible to all.

We liberate the Greek National Opera because by definition it belongs
to all of us.

We feel the need to take things from the beginning and to reinvent the
role of art.

Through self-organized processes, we propose free creative actions by
everyone and for all those who consider culture as a product of
collective creativity.

To recover and reclaim the culture that has been stolen from us.

OPEN GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE LIBERATED OPERA EVERYDAY AT 9.00 PM

Our theater the streets, our art the revolt

Creative Rebels Needed

CLIMATE CAMP AT THE G20, WED 1 APRIL

* CALL OUT FOR WORKSHOPS and CULTURE -  AT CLIMATE CAMP G20

Climate camp 2009 /// Stopping carbon markets /// Because nature  doesn't

do bailouts.

At Noon on April 1st people will gather at the European Climate Exchange

on Bishopsgate to set up camp against carbon markets.

The camp is looking for workshops for the day. We would love to hear from

you if you can offer a workshop, especially (but not limited to) workshops

on carbon trading, market solutions to climate change, and the economic

crisis. We are also really keen to hear from you if you can offer music,

street theatre or anything else which will make the day inspiring and

educational!

Please let us know if you would be able to offer a workshop and the

details at g20workshops@riseup.net

The information about the camp is at www.climatecamp.org.uk/g20, and we

hope to see you there!

Financial fools day - climate camp in the City

Climate Camp hits the City of London on April Fools Day, the eve of the

G20 leaders' London Summit. Join us!

Climate camp 2009 /// Stopping carbon markets /// Because nature doesn't

do bailouts.

First the city traders speculated with our homes, jobs and money – with

disastrous results. Now they are speculating with our climate and the

very future of life on earth – and once again our governments are

cheering them on.

By creating a brain-bending system of carbon pollution licenses, fossil

fuel companies and trading firms have found a way to keep on churning

out global warming gases and to reap huge windfall profits at the same

time. Meanwhile, the UK government is justifying a third runway at

Heathrow and a coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth by saying that

these new "carbon trading" schemes will magically make all their

emissions vanish.

They are handing control of our climate over to the same people and

systems that caused the financial collapse. All the workable and fair

alternatives aren't getting a look-in.

We need to stop this foolishness.

We've camped against the Heathrow runway, we've camped against the

Kingsnorth coal power station. Now its time to camp against the

over-arching problem: absolute faith in unfettered markets and endless

economic growth. On April 1st the G20 leaders arrive in London. At a

time of climate crisis their response to the market meltdown is

emergency loans to car manufacturers, increased spending to encourage

consumption, and bailouts for the very people who got us into this mess

- just the things that will make the climate crisis worse.

Don't let them get away with it: join our camp in the Square Mile!

Gather at noon, April 1st, at the European Climate Exchange, Hasilwood

House, 62 Bishopsgate, EC2N 4AW. Bring a pop-up tent, sleeping bag, wind

turbine, mobile cinema, action plans and ideas...let's imagine another

world.

Don't let the financial and fossil fools make the rules!

for updates, information or to get involved, visit:

http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/g20 or subscribe to announcements at:

https://lists.riseup.net/www/subrequest/climatecamp

To get more involved, come to our planning meetings:

February 14th in London.  Arrive at the library houuse, 52 Knatchbull

road, at 1 pm for a 1:30 start and bring food to share

http://thelibraryhouse.wordpress.com/

March the 7th/8th in Nottingham

Keep an eye on www.climatecamp.org.uk/g20 for the latest details

and subscribe to our facebook event:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=49600653225