[12/10/2010]

Avonmouth targeted for international day of climate action

This morning activists from Bristol and Bath Rising Tide (1) dropped a
banner reading 'IMPORT CO2AL: EXPORT POVERTY' from Avonmouth bridge near
the docks, as part of a global week of action for climate and
environmental justice.

The Royal Portbury Docks contains one of the largest coal import terminals
in the UK. There are currently plans to build several new coal power
stations in the UK, and 71% of coal used in Britain is imported. (2)

Tracy Jones from Rising Tide said “Fossil fuel extraction devastates
communities, from villages destroyed by floods in Pakistan to land grabs
in Colombia, and is being resisted around the world. The failure of the
Copenhagen climate summit shows that governments have their hands in the
pockets of corporations and cannot be trusted. It's up to ordinary people
to take direct action to stop climate chaos.”

October 12 – 16 is the Global Minga (3) in Defence of Mother Earth, an
international week of action for climate and environmental justice called
by indigenous peoples from the Americas, social movements and allies
around the world. Further actions are happening in London (4), which
people from Bristol will be attending.

Notes for editors

(1)In April activists from Bristol and Bath Rising Tide chained themselves
to the railway at Ffos y Fran, the largest opencast mine in the UK, to
stop a train carrying coal to Aberthaw power station. In August they
received conditional discharges. For a full report see:
 http://risingtide.org.uk/node/353
(2) http://www.coalimp.org.uk/9.html
(3)In the Quechua language of Ecuador, minga means the coming together of
a community for the betterment of all.
 http://intercontinentalcry.org/global-minga-in-defense-of-mother-earth-october-12-2010/
 http://www.beyondtalk.net/action/atlas-of-resistance/
(4)16 October in London – 'A Crude Awakening' mass action against the oil
industry.
 http://www.crudeawakening.org.uk/