Six climate protesters saw their sentences moderately reduced, while ten others had their jail time upheld, following a crucial Appeal Court test of the UK’s right to protest
The decision entrenches a terrifying precedent for climate defenders in the UK and lays bare the need for urgent reform of the country’s draconian protest laws.
Despite committing to steer the country down the path to net-zero, six months into his term Prime Minster Keir Starmer’s government have taken no steps to end the criminalisation of climate defenders.
Peaceful climate activists are taking up space in Britain’s bulging prisons.
The UK is among the most heavy-handed countries in the world towards climate protest, arresting activists at nearly three times the global average. Data shows that environmental protest has been disproportionately hit with new restrictions on demonstrations, resulting in hundreds of arrests.
A dangerous precedent for climate protest
Last week's decision follows a mass appeal over the draconian sentences imposed on 16 climate activists jailed for civil disobedience – collectively serving 41 years in jail.
Among them were five campaigners, including the founder of Extinction Rebellion Roger Hallam, who were handed four to five-year jail terms for conspiracy to cause a public nuisance. Some of them had only participated in a Zoom call where they discussed plans to scale the M25.
Their sentences were each cut by 1-1.5 years. The judgment slammed their planned protest as “coercive” and upheld hefty jail terms for the group.
Their original sentences were more than twice the national average for all offences in England and Wales, almost in line with average sentences for robbery and the maximum sentence for aggravated assault.
The revised sentences are more than the average sentence for criminal damage and arson in England and Wales.
UN Special Rapporteur for Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention Michel Forst slammed last summer’s verdict as “unacceptable” and setting “a very dangerous precedent.”
The UK government has since responded by dismissing claims that it violated its obligations under the Convention. “There is no right to civil disobedience set out in the Convention,” it wrote.
The UK government has taken little action to address the escalating attacks on peaceful protesters demanding action to address the climate crisis. Instead it is going to court to defend repressive laws brought in by the Tories
Michel Forst has called on governments across Europe to ease restrictions on civil disobedience and stop the demonisation of climate defenders.
A central argument revisited in the appeal was whether “conscientious motivation” can be a mitigating factor in cases of civil disobedience. Lawyers for the accused – backed by environmental groups Greenpeace UK and Friends of the Earth – argued that the lengthy sentences were disproportionate and violate human rights laws.
The Zoom call conspiracy cases were the first involving peaceful protesters in which the defendants’ conscientious motivations were not considered during initial sentencing.
While the Court of Appeal accepted that their motivations as well as rights to free speech and assembly under European human rights law should have been considered, the Lady Chief Justice maintained that these considerations did not preclude hefty sentences. The Judge also rejected claims that the Aarhus Convention protects climate protest.
This decision has thereby given a green light to further criminalisation.
Fighting the wrong enemy
The need for action to tackle the climate crisis is more urgent than ever. Last year, the world experienced its hottest year on record, officially passing the 1.5°C threshold set by the Paris Agreement.
Wildfires have once again engulfed large swathes of California, leaving tens of thousands of acres of charred ruins and blackened buildings. The cost of the damage is expected to run up to $150 billion.
Hurricane-level storms have ravaged Ireland and the UK in January, with more extreme weather threatened.
And worse is yet to come.
US President Donald Trump marked his return to office by ditching the Paris climate accord and revitalising the fossil fuel industry. Climate sceptics have been emboldened in the UK and Europe as well, fuelled by a rise in right-wing populism.
The UK government has taken little action to address the escalating attacks on peaceful protesters demanding action to address the climate crisis. Instead it is going to court to defend repressive laws brought in by the Tories.
More recently, it has signalled that it will put economic growth above climate action by pressing ahead with plans to expand Heathrow airport. The ruling party struck down a proposed law that would have made legally binding commitments for the UK to curb its emissions.
Writing in the Daily Mail, Prime Minister Keir Starmer took aim at “nimbys and zealots” who stand in the way of infrastructure projects. He accused groups like Extinction Rebellion of wanting to win “for themselves” and “not the country.”
The right to peaceful climate protest
The 16 people who were part of this week’s appeal cover a broad spectrum of protest.
Two people threw soup at the glass covering a Van Gogh painting. A 78-year-old grandmother was jailed for scaling the M25, and later recalled to prison because the authorities couldn’t find a wrist tag that fit her. Four others occupied tunnels dug under a road leading to an oil terminal.
But they all have something in common. They are peaceful protesters who’ve been criminalised for using civil disobedience to stand up for climate action. They have also all been sentenced since a major government review calling for a severe crackdown on the right to protest.
It is unconscionable for the government to pursue climate protesters while global heating wrecks our homes, lands and ecosystems. No peaceful protester should be treated like a violent criminal. Civil disobedience should not be considered a crime.
It’s time for the government to start owning up to that.
