Here’s a leaflet that was used on the actions at BAM head office: bam_leaflet.pdf
and here’s a text version of it:
BAM …and the planet’s gone!
BAM Nuttall are one of the UK’s largest construction firms. They are currently bidding for the contract to build a new coal power station at Kingsnorth in Kent, for the giant power company E.ON. This would be the first new UK coal power station for 30 years.
Kingsnorth must not be built, because:
Coal kills: Coal is the dirtiest fuel there is. A new Kingsnorth power station would produce around 7 million tonnes of CO2 per year, equivalent to the entire emissions of a country like Ghana[1]. Climate change – caused by burning fossil fuels like coal – is already killing 300,000 people per year, and will get much worse if we don’t take urgent action now[2].
Failed target: The UK has already committed to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050, and scientists say we need even steeper cuts to avoid climate catastrophe[3]. We have no hope of meeting any of these targets if new coal power stations are pumping out CO2 for the next 40 years.
Global shame: The nations of the world are currently arguing over how to cut greenhouse gas emissions. If the UK goes ahead with Kingsnorth, it will make it much harder to persuade other countries to stop using coal.
No need!: There’s no need to build coal power stations at all – if we stopped wasting energy then we could meet all our needs using sustainable sources such as the wind, sun and tide, creating employment in a modern, environmentally friendly way.
Part of the E.ON Face Off, supported by the Camp for Climate Action
www.e-onf-off.org.uk
www.climatecamp.org.uk
CAUTION: DIRECT ACTION AHEAD
We are at BAM’s head office to demand that they immediately drop out of the bidding for Kingsnorth, and never get involved with any new coal projects.
-Building a coal power station contradicts BAM’s stated commitment to "the broader issue of climate change, carbon reduction and community liaison"[4], and would directly harm the future of its employees and their families. If climate change continues to worsen, the South East of England will be particularly vulnerable to increased floods and storms[5].
-We need to make a just and fair transition to a low carbon society, actively involving workers from the energy industry in the process. New coal power would take us in exactly the wrong direction.
-Kingsnorth is the most controversial power project in the UK. Thousands of people have already pledged to take direct action against it, backed by a huge wave of public opposition. Today’s action shows how people are ready to act on their words. If construction begins, there will be blockades and disruption on the scale of the road protests of the 1990s, which cost contractors millions of pounds and prevented many proposed road projects from going ahead.
The "Carbon Capture" Con
Government says that it’s OK to build Kingsnorth because it will use "carbon capture and storage" (CCS) to catch 25% of its emissions and store them underground. But, this is unproven technology that is still being tested, won’t be available until at least 2020 (too late to prevent climate disaster) and might not work at all. Even if Kingsnorth’s emissions were reduced by a quarter, it would still be more polluting than a gas power station!
[1] Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center: http://cdiac.ornl.gov/
[2] Global Humanitarian Forum: http://www.ghf-geneva.org/
[3] http://www.tyndall.ac.uk/publications/briefing_notes/bn17.pdf
[4] BAM Nuttall website: http://www.bamnuttall.co.uk
[5] UK Climate Impacts Programme: http://www.ukcip.org.uk
This leaflet was later adapted and reused by the group that did the Laing action: laing_leaflet.pdf