In potentially the first case of it’s kind, RBS and the Treasury could face court action for investing in carbon-intensive industries including coal, oil and gas as well as environmentally destuctive mining.
The environmental groups involved in bringing about the hearing today include People and Planet, the World Development Movement and Platform. The conclusion of the hearing could lead to green groups having a case with which to sue the bank and the Treasury.
At an event organised by nine organisations looking to make people’s feelings about the importance of acting against climate change known, more than 1000 people joined hands to make a ‘Mili-band’ around Kingsnorth power station.
Organisations responsible for making the event a success include Oxfam, RSPB, NUS, People and Plant and Greenpeace, and it is hoped that both Climate Secretary Ed Miliband and owners of the Kingsnorth power station, E-on, will heed the call from those making their protest against the proposal for a new coal fired power plant at the site, as Ed Miliband will shortly be making the decision about whether to allow the new development to go ahead.
On 23rd April Ed Miliband outlined plans for clean coal technology to help reduce the UK’s carbon emissions and begin to take action against climate change. Today the details of the new coal consultation have been announced, asking for feedback on three documents published today on the Department for Environment and Climate Change website.
The proposals focus on three main areas and provide more detailed information about the plans in the pipeline to help reduce carbon emissions. The first part of the proposal will mean that all newly built coal fired power stations will only be approved if they include CCS (carbon capture and storage) technology that captures at least 25% of the power stations’ carbon emissions and pumps it back into the ground where oil and gas were originally stored beneath the North Sea.
