A British jury has ruled that the threat of climate change is so great that campaigners are justified in causing damage.

Under Britain's Criminal Damage Act (1971) "lawful excuse" allows

damage to be caused to property to prevent even greater damage.

Protesters caused more than 35,000 pounds worth of damage to a coal-fired

power station, but a jury at the Maidston Crown Court reached a

verdict that cleared six Greenpeace activists of criminal damage.

The jury accepted the argument from the defence that six persons had a

lawful excuse to damage property at Kingsnorth power station in Kent

to prevent even greater damage caused by global warming. The

not-guilty verdict is likely to encourage protestors to take more

direct action against coal plants that create greenhouse gas emissions.

During the eight-day trial one of the world's leading climate

scientist, U.S. professor James Hansen of NASA joined several high

profile figures in supporting the notion that direct action causing

damage could be justified in the minds of many people if it were

intended to prevent larger crimes being committed.

The defendants successfully claimed that their intention was to rein

back CO2 emissions and bring urgent pressure to bear on the Government

to change policies on coal used as fuel to generate electricity.

It was the second time in a decade that the "lawful excuse" defence

has been successfully used by Greenpeace activists. Environmental

groups viewed the verdict marks a tipping point for the climate change

movement.

The State of the Planet

CARBON CONFUSION

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjfxtUMY0x4

For latest daily news on climate change and planet opinion

www.dailyplanetmedia.com