UK Activists Spared Jail Time in Climate Change Trial

The 20 UK climate change activists who were recently found guilty for planning to shut down E.ON's Ratcliffe-on-Soar, the UK's 3rd-largest coal power plant, for a week in 2009 have now received their sentences, in a high profile case for climate activists around the world.

The judge, Jonathan Teare, addressed each individual separately, portraying the activists not as wild, inconsiderate crazies, but as the responsible, concerned, and honorable people they are. He noted, broadly, that their very honorable references considered them "honest," "dedicated," "conscientious," "intelligent," "caring," and called them among the most "polite" and "punctual" defendants he had ever seen.

The sentences the activists received were minor compared to what was possible, in part due to the judge's clear concern about accelerated global climate change. If Teare had little knowledge of climate change before the trial, he surely does now. The trial included a thorough global warming primer from experts such as leading NASA scientist James Hansen, geographer and UN consultant Geoff Meaden, and London School of Hygiene and Medicine epidemiologist Ian Roberts. In the end, the judge got the point.

"You are all decent men and women with a genuine concern for others, and in particular for the survival of planet Earth in something resembling its present form," The Guardian reports Teare said. "I have no doubt that each of you acted with the highest possible motives. And that is an extremely important consideration." Furthermore, Teare acknowledged the careful and thorough planning of the activists, noting that everything had been "well-considered and well-prepared."

Still, the fact that the defendants were found guilty by a jury in the first place, despite 3 weeks of climate education is concerning, even if the verdict was based on legal technicalities.  One of the convicted activists, Bradley Day, wrote a great piece in The Guardian yesterday expressing his disappointment over the unanimous guilty verdict. His spot on call for a much broader, more engaged grassroots activism, and a renewal of the climate movement was an inspiring response to the decision.

In the end, Teare gave "conditional discharges" (probation with conditions) of 18 months to 2 years to 13 of the defendants. Five other defendants have to do 60-90 hours of community service because of their prior convictions. And while the prosecutor asked that each defendant pay a fine of £5,000, the judge only fined two defendants, one for £500 and one for £1,000, mostly because these two actually have money to pay. Today, 2 defendants still await sentencing, and 6 more activists, arrested with the 20, will go on trial next week.

While the final phase of this saga begins, climate activism is going strong in the UK. As I write, activists protesting a coal mine at Huntington Lane are standing strong against a "National Eviction Team." To support their quest, visit if you are nearby, join their facebook group, or check out their Wish List for the building and defense and sustenance of their site.

To continue to support the "Racliffe 20" and hear updates on the last trial, go to their Facebook page here.

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Photo Credit: afsart