Carrington_blockade_2_web

ANTI-FRACKING ACTIVISTS STOP WORK AT CARRINGTON GAS POWER STATION

For immediate release: Saturday, 16 January, 2016

Media Contact: press@nodashforgas.org.uk / 07778169190 / @nodashforgas

**Photos and interviews with protesters on site on social media and hi-def here**

UPDATE: Activists have left the Carrington site with no arrests made

Early this morning, activists from No Dash For Gas blockaded the entrance of the construction site of the Carrington gas-fired power station, outside Manchester, halting work at the multi-million pound project.

The climate activists erected and climbed a scaffolding tripod, and continue to block traffic trying to enter the site, where hundreds of workers continue building work today. The blockade coincides with a national solidarity demonstration taking place at the nearby contested fracking site, Upton – in the first wave of British anti-fossil fuel protests following the Paris climate talks.

A message in lights hanging six feet up at the blockade reads ‘Flood level 2050?’ in reference to the scientific consensus that we can’t escape more extreme weather unless we stop building new fossil fuel infrastructure. The occupiers explained:

“When flooding becomes the new normal, you can’t carry on with business as usual. The decision to approve 159 new fracking licenses within days of signing the global climate agreement in Paris shows that, despite the rhetoric, this government intends to keep putting their cronies before the climate.

“It’s up to ordinary people now. This is one of the first of Osborne’s new generation of gas-fired power stations, but it’s also the beginning of a year of action from a movement that has already won unexpected ground from the fracking industry. Continued blockades of sites like these have the potential to harm investor confidence, and anyone thinking of investing in Carlton Power needs to understand that they’re backing a stranded asset. New gas has got to go.”

Carrington is part of a plan for 14 new gas fired power stations across the country. A second fossil fuel powered plant on an adjacent plot to the existing construction site is currently seeking funding.

At the solidarity demonstration taking place in Upton, Chester, hundreds are expected to demonstrate against the eviction of the Community Protection Camp. Both actions are part of Reclaim the Power’s ‘Groundswell’, a year of action for Climate Justice in 2016. The activists continued:

“We’re inspired by the anti-fracking communities in Upton and beyond who’ve been holding an entire industry at bay for over three years. This isn’t just about energy policy. In the face of ever eroding democracy and widening inequality people are reclaiming their power. These are exciting times and the resistance to new fossil fuels is re-writing the political landscape.”

ENDS

NOTES:

  • While the government and industry continue to claim that gas, and fracked gas are ‘bridging fuels’ to a sustainable future, evidence to the contrary is overwhelming. Statoil’s Head of Sustainability Communication has admitted that methane leaked during natural gas extraction makes its overall impact as a greenhouse gas comparable to the impact of coal (Open Democracy)
  • The recent ongoing catastrophic leaks of methane from a well in California providing a graphic example of the risks.
  • The links between climate change and risks of flooding such as that seen in the Manchester recently are increasingly recognised – climate change increases the risk of exceptionally high rainfall by 50-75% (Carbon Brief)
  • For live updates on progress throughout the day, follow @nodashforgas on Twitter

Carrington gas-fired power station blockade 2

Carrington gas-fired power station blockade 3

Carrington gas-fired power station blockade 5