Seven protestors were found guilty of aggravated trespass by obstructing operations at an Esso fuel terminal in Birmingham.

The campaign group, Just Stop Oil, held a protest at an Esso fuel terminal in Birmingham on the April 3, 2022. They were demanding an end to governmental support of new fossil fuel licences and projects. The 12 hour action meant that the fuel terminal was unable to operate as the protesters gathered within the site and in front of security barriers. The protest was part of a larger action taking place across England in conjunction with Extinction Rebellion. 

The defendants were sentenced in mid-February 2023 at the Wolverhampton Magistrates Court. Although a guilty verdict was reached for 7 of the 9 defendants, the judge was sympathetic to the cause of the protestors. 

There was a dispute as to what his sentencing remarks were. According to Just Stop Oil, he said, when noting the defendants’ “admirable aims”, that:

“When the United Nations Secretary General gives a speech saying that the activity of fossil fuel companies is incompatible with human survival, we should all be very aware of the need for change.” 

The BBC followed up with an article setting out what the Judicial Office understood to be the judge’s comments. That version was also sympathetic to the defendants however, noting their explanations for their actions were ‘deeply emotive’ which ‘moved’ the judge.

The convicted were given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs. 

R v. Brewer and others  (Just Stop Oil protest, Esso terminal, Birmingham)

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R v. Brewer and others  (Just Stop Oil protest, Esso terminal, Birmingham) - press release

Filed

United Kingdom

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

Activities that relate to the production of goods and services from forests.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

R v. Brewer and others (Just Stop Oil protest, Esso terminal, Birmingham) - press release

Risk

Impacted group

Fossil fuel

Economic sector

Finance