Thread by @StuartBCapstick

Five of us scientists have had our case dismissed at Westminster magistrates court. Not even not guilty, simply no case to answer.
We were on trial for protesting UK govt’s rush for new oil & gas. Some background and context.
Long🧵1/
extinctionrebellion.uk/2022/10/21/bre…

In autumn of 2021, before COP26, 70 leading scientists including IPCC authors, wrote to the UK govt stating: “the science is clear on the need to end investment in new oil and gas development. Now is the time for bold political action.” 2/
independent.co.uk/climate-change…

A big focus at COP26 itself in November 2021 was moving beyond oil and gas – some more forward-thinking countries (not the UK) acted on this to form the beyond oil and gas alliance. 3/
beyondoilandgasalliance.com

Then in early 2022, just weeks after having hosted COP26 in Glasgow, it became clear that despite being a supposed climate leader (ha!) the UK govt was going to enable and encourage new oil and gas exploration. Well, COP26 was so last year. 4/

Around this time, then-secretary of state for BEIS, Kwasi Kwarteng (latterly of the not-entirely-successful economy-crashing budget) seemed to be showing growing enthusiasm for new oil and gas. 5/

https://twitter.com/icandosocanu/status/1478485323315302400

In January 2022, the Tories’ salivating over new oil and gas was exposed by several media outlets. NB this was happening *before* Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 6/
independent.co.uk/climate-change…

While govt was getting the red carpet ready for oil & gas giants, the govt’s own climate advisors, @theCCCuk were clear this would harm domestic efforts & undermine international action on the climate crisis, while doing nothing to help cost of living. 7/
theccc.org.uk/publication/le…

In Feb 2022, @theCCCuk wrote to Kwasi Kwarteng, then sec-of-state for @beisgovuk to make clear that further “extraction [could] far exceed the amount of fossil fuels that could be burnt under climate commitments”. 8/

In their Feb 2022 letter, @theCCCuk said that there should be “a presumption against exploration” for new oil and gas, that “an end to UK exploration would send a clear signal… that the UK is committed to the 1.5C temperature goal”. 9/

@theCCCuk stated that “further oil and gas exploration” could “weaken UK diplomacy to encourage other countries to adopt ambitious climate policies. 10/

In other words, new oil and gas exploration by the UK – at that time holder of the COP26 presidency – would not only have an adverse effect for emissions of the UK, but would undermine global efforts to tackle the climate crisis. 11/

Other scientific analysis made clear that for a fighting chance of 1.5C there could be no new oil & gas. A @TyndallCentre report by @dancalverley and @KevinClimate concluded: “There is no capacity in the carbon budget for opening up new production facilities of any kind”. /12

Reflecting the science, UN Secretary General @antonioguterres stated that “investing in new fossil fuel infrastructure is moral and economic madness”. 13/
drillordrop.com/2022/04/04/new…

The director of the respected International Energy Agency @IEA @fbirol likewise said that “if governments are serious about the climate crisis, there can be no new investments in oil, gas and coal, from now”. 14/
theguardian.com/environment/20…

Other high-profile peer-reviewed science is clear fossil fuels must be left in the ground.
Of course, UK govt listened carefully to its own climate advisors, climate scientists, international agencies and the UN sec-general.
Yeah. Course they did🙄
15/
nature.com/articles/s4158…

In March 2022, the govt via @beisgovuk published its energy strategy which made official and unambiguous that they wanted to see more oil and gas from UK waters and would enable this through a new licensing round. 16/
gov.uk/government/pub…

It’s beyond offensive that while still holding the COP26 presidency, after all the warm words about the need to move beyond oil and gas, the UK essentially said: what the hell, let’s do it anyway. 17/

So by March 2022 it was clear that UK govt, still holding the COP26 presidency, was going to undermine climate action at home and internationally, against the advice of pretty much everyone they should have been listening to. 18/

https://twitter.com/tessakhan/status/1512069543006380032

As a result of these unfolding events, @ScientistsX decided that we wanted to draw attention to this climate wrecking, bullshit, greenwash and hypocrisy in as visible a way as we could. 19/

About 20 of us went to the BEIS building in London and pasted scientific papers and quotes to the windows, trying to show the dereliction of duty of the UK govt in failing to act on its own climate obligations and commitments. 20/
theconversation.com/extinction-reb…

Once we’d pasted up the papers and quotes, some of us glued ourselves to the windows – we were trying to stick by the science, you see. (There's me on the right, next to the marvellous @PerrinAbi) 21/

After about three hours and a ludicrously large police presence, nine of us were arrested. We were held for the max 24 hours and interviewed during the night. 22/

Having been held for the max 24 hours, we were bailed on the condition we didn’t enter central London – despite that one of us actually lived there. 23/

Months passed and a drawn-out legal process ensued. Thanks to many incredible people we were able to crowdfund the money for decent legal representation, running to £13,000 (and that still with some of us self-representing). NB crowdfund now closed. 24/

Our trial should have been completed in early August, but due to the CPS’s… erm… approach, it wasn’t possible to finish the trial of five of us in a day. Case adjourned: more delay, more court costs. 25/

As 2022 wore on, a new minister at BEIS and spokesperson for the 19th century, Jacob Rees-Mogg, doubled down on the govt’s fossil fuel rapacity, declaring the UK should extract “every cubic inch of gas out of the North sea”. 26/
theguardian.com/politics/2022/…

On September 1st the other four of us were tried separately by a different judge. Those scientists were found guilty. 27/

As it turned out, in late September 2022, Cruella Braverman’s appeal re the Colston 4 led to a legal clarification by the courts on the right to protest – particularly where that included potential criminal damage. 28/
libertyhumanrights.org.uk/issue/colston-…

When we original five were back in court on 21st October for the second half of our trial, our barrister was able to show that the Colston 4 appeal ruling had a material effect on our case. 29/

In large part due to the implications of the Colston 4 appeals ruling (plus other points specific to our case) the magistrates accepted our barrister’s argument that the case should be dismissed. 30/

After six months of the legal process, court appearances, financial worries and stress, that was it: we had no case to answer. Cue lots of hugs and a shedload of pints in the nearest pub to the court. 31/
extinctionrebellion.uk/2022/10/21/bre…

We have been incredibly fortunate to have outstanding legal representation from solicitors and barristers with intricate understanding of law relating to protest, able to argue our case brilliantly in court and behind the scenes. 32/
@BindmansLLP
@tjamesmatthews
@NadiaMayOM

It’s a bittersweet end to things for the @ScientistsX. Govt seems to be lurching ever further to the right and away from sanity and the science. And four of us are still looking to challenge their convictions on appeal. 33/

Govt meanwhile has thrown open the floodgates for oil and gas licences – over 100 likely to be granted at 900 sites. These headbangers seem determined to fry the planet. 34/

bbc.co.uk/news/science-e…

New licences are not the end of the story but they nevertheless fire the starting gun and set the direction of travel. 35/

https://twitter.com/tessakhan/status/1572993834329722881

Finally, a reminder from @antonioguterres: the dangerous radicals are not the ones protesting against new oil and gas – it’s those governments, including the UK’s, that are planning to expand oil and gas production. 36/

https://twitter.com/antonioguterres/status/1511294073474367488?s=20&t=X_LvMCXE3O9IthKMazSqWw

And if you’re wondering about scientists doing civil disobedience - maybe even you're a scientist yourself - I can help there with a paper we had published recently in @NatureClimate
37 and end/
nature.com/articles/s4155…