Greta is tried in London for disobeying the police – 02/01/2024 – Environment

Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg made an appeal, this Thursday (1st), for the identification of the “real enemy” of the environment, at the end of the first day of her trial in London for “disrupting public order” during a demonstration in October.

“Environmental activists are prosecuted all over the world for acting according to their conscience. We have to remember who the real enemy is,” said Greta, 21, as she left Westminster Magistrates’ Court, in the center of the British capital.

During the hearing, the first of a two-day trial, prosecutor Luke Staton said the activist had upset the public’s determination not to block the streets during a protest against the Energy Intelligence Forum, which was taking place at a hotel in the Mayfair district of London, where the directors of the main gas and oil companies were located.

“She said she was going to stay where she was, so she was arrested,” Staton explained.

At a preliminary hearing in November, in another London court, the activist pleaded not guilty.

The young Swedish woman, who became known worldwide for her school strikes for the climate, which began when she was 15 years old, could receive a fine of up to 2,500 pounds (R$15,700 at the current rate).

In total, 26 people, including Greta, are being prosecuted for the same reason. They were all detained at the same protest.

This Thursday, the young woman did not hide an ironic smile when prosecutor Staton explained that the accused protested precisely when the main actors in the oil and gas sector were “discussing and debating” how to develop “sustainable solutions” for energy.

‘Contradictory messages’

Upon arriving at the court, the prosecuted activists were greeted by supporters of environmental organizations, who congratulated Greta, holding up banners with phrases such as “London free from fossil fuels” and “Climate protest is not a crime”.

Maja Darlington, Greenpeace UK campaigner, said activists were being tried “for protesting peacefully”, while oil executives were “celebrating making billions from selling climate-destroying fossil fuels”.

“Behind these closed doors (…), unscrupulous politicians make deals with lobbyists for the destructive fossil fuel sector,” Greta said on October 17, before being detained and taken away in a police van.

She was later released on bail and, the following day, participated in another protest in front of the same hotel.

After these demonstrations, the British government granted several new licenses for oil and gas exploration, citing the need to strengthen the country’s energy independence — one of Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s priorities.

The independent body responsible for advising the British government on its climate strategy expressed, on Monday (29), concern that the country was transmitting “contradictory messages” that destabilized its international influence on the issue.

Several of London’s measures caused outrage among environmental organizations, which filed legal appeals and intensified their actions, such as the Just Stop Oil movement, whose activists frequently organize peaceful marches in the British capital. In response, the government tightened legislation to prevent further acts.