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#GovernmentKnew
See Tim Crosland’s personal statement,which breached the Supreme Court’s embargo on the Heathrow judgment as a deliberate act of civil disobedience. Tim’s protest aims to raise the alarm on the Government and the Supreme Court’s suppression of the evidence that Heathrow expansion is inconsistent with the Paris Agreement threshold of 1.5˚C.
Our governments can again claim to be committed to the Paris Agreement, while taking actions that are blatantly inconsistent with it.
In August 2018 Plan B began a legal challenge to the Government’s reckless plans to expand Heathrow Airport on the grounds that they had failed to assess the plans against the Paris temperature limit of 1.5˚C.
Initially the Government claimed to have considered the Paris Agreement. But as we put this claim under scrutiny through the legal process they backed down and admitted that Heathrow expansion had not been assessed against the Paris temperature limit. They attempted to argue that the Paris Agreement was “not relevant” to Government policy on climate change.
The High Court supported the Government’s position, and we appealed to the Court of Appeal.
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And today everyone is going to hear that the Gov knew Heathrow expansion would breach the Paris limit of 1.5˚C. That is the real story.
Note: although this is dated 10 May, it was in fact published only on 21 June.
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Rejected by the Court
We urge you to consider the grave implications of this judgment. The highest court in the United Kingdom has set a precedent that major national projects can proceed, even where they are inconsistent with maintaining the temperature limit on which our collective survival depends. Indeed, the precedent goes further still.
It says that the Government is not bound even to consider the goals of an Agreement that is near universally agreed. Not only does that undermine the UK’s status as a “champion of the Paris Agreement,” just ahead of the critical climate talks in Glasgow later this year (COP26). It also substantially reduces humanity’s prospects of maintaining that limit and hence, averting disaster.
Claiming the Chris Grayling had taken the Paris Agreement into account even though the Minister himself had said it was “not relevant”
Plan B’s main evidence was given on Wednesday 13 March, starting at page 96 of the transcript.
The Prime Minister stated in Parliament:
we will ensure that we abide by the judgment and take account of the Paris convention on climate change
George Monbiot
Starting from minute 47
Government and Friends of the Earth Submissions
Plan B submissions from beginning of recording.
Plan B submissions begin from 1.38.30.
Plan B submission from beginning.