That’s up to you! Because all groups have different skills, priorities and opportunities, there is no absolute blueprint for being a Tar-Free Town. Which is why there will be an open meeting in mid-June to discuss whether Oxford should be declared a Tar-Free Town, and what it will mean.

We need as many people on board as possible, so please sign up for our newsletter, or just drop us a line at info@no-tar-sands.org, so we can let you know exactly when and where this meeting will be!

Tar Monster caught by climate campaigners on the Streets of Oxford

Oxford Joins Global Demonstration to “Connect the Dots” Between Extreme Weather and Climate Change

Today, May 5^th 2012 a Tar Monster was on the loose in Cornmarket Street as part of an international day of action on climate change. The tar monster was caught by a dozen campaigners who called to stop the extraction of Canadian Tar Sands and connected the dots between extreme energy projects and extreme weather events.

“Tar sands fuel releases three to five more greenhouse emissions that conventional oil and is driving the planet to irreversible climate change.” said Pete Barker, one of the organisers of the Oxford event said, “Rather than making the transition to renewable forms of energy we are seeing more and more extreme energy in the mix like tar sands, which is creating extreme weather and is already impacting on communities globally.”

The creative demonstration was a combination of “Climate Impacts Day,” an effort led by international climate campaign350.org which has brought together over 1,000 events in 150 countries [1], and International Stop the Tar Sands Day, a grassroots initiative raising awareness about the dangers of tar sands exploitation [2]. It was organised by local 350.org and tar sands activists in collaboration with Lush store in Oxford, and was supported by the UK Tar Sands Network [3], who is calling on Oxford to become one of the first Tar Free Towns in the UK [4].

“People have got to realise that climate change is happening right now, and if we don’t rapidly transition from away from extreme forms of energy extraction like mining tar sands or drilling in the Arctic, soon it will be too late to avoid runaway climate change” said tar sands and climate campaigner Ruthi Brandt 

NOTES:

[1] Climate Impacts Day is hosted by 350.org, an international grassroots climate campaign. Today, over 1,000 events in 150 countries “connect the dots” between local changes, like extreme weather events, and the broader climate crisis. Visit www.climatedots.org for more information about Climate Impacts Day.

 [2] International Stop the Tar Sands Day is highlighting how industry is going to more and more extreme lengths to get fuel for the world’s fossil fuel addiction by drilling deeper and deeper for more and more difficult to extract oil and gas resources. Growing from 9 events in 2010 to fifty in 2011, today was the 3^rd ISTSDay, organised by a group of everyday citizens from around the world.

 [3] The UK Tar Sands Network campaigns in partnership with Indigenous communities affected by the Tar Sands oil developments in Canada. They target the UK and EU governments, UK companies (such as BP and Shell), and banks and investors (such as RBS) operating in the Alberta Tar Sands. It is based in Oxford.

 [4] A Tar-Free Town is a community that is working towards a vision of clean energy, and is setting out to actively make the positive transition away from dirty oil. The idea came from a desire to connect people in the UK with communities fighting Tar Sands in Canada. Similar initiatives in the US were successful in blocking tar sands oil entirely from individual municipalities. Although Tar Sands oil hasn’t yet arrived in the UK in significant quantities, its large-scale import is potentially very close and the battle to shut Tar Sands out of the UK market is taking place right now.

[5] More about the tar sands in Alberta, Canada –

 It is the biggest energy project in the world and extracting oil from the sand is an incredibly damaging process, both to the natural environment and the people that live there. Tar sands have such high carbon intensity that if extraction continues, all attempts to hold global temperature below 2 degrees to avoid the most severe climate change impacts will be inevitable. Although at this stage very few tons of tar sands get shipped over to Europe the issue cannot be ignored as the EU has to decide if they will allow for more and more dirty tar sands to be shipped to Europe. EU countries recently voted on the Fuel Quality Directive, which would classify tar sands to be more environmentally damaging than conventional fuels. If passed this policy would have kept tar sands oil out of Europe. But, the vote resulted in a stalemate. The decision is now delayed until 2013 as the European Commission will conduct an impact assessment for the proposal, asked by European oil corporations, which are heavily lobbying EU member states along with Canada.

On Saturday 26th November, a giant Tar Monster, produced by Friends of the Earth, the UK Tar Sands Network and South Coast Climate Camp, roamed the streets of Lewes. The monster highlighted the role of local MP Norman Baker in opposing action to cut the use of tar sands oil, the world’s most polluting transport fuel [1].

“We are aware that the Canadian tar sands industry is an ecological monster [2]. Fuel derived from tar sands comes at a very high price to the environment, to communities that live near extraction, and to the global climate,” said Lewes constituent Mark Mansbridge. “Gladly, the EU has moved towards labelling tar sands as more polluting than conventional oil [3]. You think this would be a welcome move for Baker, a self-styled environmentalist, however we are instead seeing him align with the Canadian government to derail the EU legislation.”

The Canadian government has been engaged in a mammoth lobbying offensive [4] against the Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) for over two years, and has now openly vowed war [5] on the legislation, claiming that it threatens future export markets for global unconventional oil, and unfairly discriminates against the tar sands. In recent months, as the decision now goes to EU member states, the UK government has escalated its support of the Canadian position, going so far as to lobby other EU states to reject the inclusion of tar sands in the FQD [6]. As minister responsible for the UK position [7], Norman Baker has been the focus of intensive campaigning on this issue by NGOs and climate campaigners for recent months [8].

“A coalition of international NGOs, community groups and climate campaigners have been urging Baker to stop blocking the inclusion of a higher tar sands value,” commented UK Tar Sands Network campaigner Suzanne Dhaliwal. “Baker insists he is trying to help the environment [9], arguing that the proposed legislation singles out tar sands and should be delayed until more data is available about other fuel sources. But this is a bogus argument, inherited from the Canadian government. The Commission’s current proposal has already given values to other unconventional fuel sources, and contains a clause to include more fuel types as the science becomes available. Baker needs to realise that there is no time to delay – this legislation needs to come into effect as soon as possible.”

Now the pressure to stop caving in to the interests of the Canadian tar sands industry is coming closer to home. Earlier this week the local Lush store-front displayed an image of Norman Baker dripping in tar sands oil [10]. “Norman Baker was right behind setting up Transition Town Lewes and supporting climate activists.” said Mansbridge. “We have felt betrayed by Norman’s position on the Fuel Quality Directive. If he continues to call for tar sands to not be labelled as highly polluting he will be putting the interests of the Canadian tar sands industry and corporations ahead of his constituents, who want affirmative action on climate change.”

Lewes’ Green Party has expressed concern that Norman Baker is trying to prevent the implementation of the transport legislation given his previous commitment to the environment [11]. “We need our government to be taking decisive action to reduce emissions from fuels. The Fuel Quality Directive will move industry towards a green economy to provide us with jobs we can be proud of and renewable energy for future generations,” said councillor Susan Murray. “Tar sands are a highly polluting source of carbon-based fuel and if production is encouraged by unimpeded access to European markets then the fight against irreversible climate change is as good as lost [12].”

ENDS

Photos up here – High res images available upon request

Notes for editors:
[1] Minister for Transport, Norman Baker, stated the UK government will oppose an inclusion of a tar sands value. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/oct/04/oil-sands-imports-eu-ban?newsfeed=true
[2] See www.no-tar-sands.org/what-are-the-tar-sands
[3] The Fuel Quality Directive aims to cut carbon emissions from transport by 6% by 2020. The directive includes values for a range of transport fuels including shale oil. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/04/eu-tarsands-idUSL5E7L41ST20111004
[4] See ‘Canada’s dirty lobby diary – Undermining the EU Fuel Quality Directive’ released by Friends of the Earth Europe http://www.foeeurope.org/publications/2011/FOEE_Report_Tar_Sands_Lobby_Final_July82011.pdf
[5] The Minister has vowed to fight the EUs’ recent decision http://www.canada.com/business/Oliver+vows+fight+smacks+oilsands+with+pollution+penalty/5501777/story.html
[6] http://priceofoil.org/2011/09/27/britain-backs-canada-over-tar-sands-fight/
[7] Norman Baker is Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department for Transport.
[8] e.g. from the Co-operative Bank http://www.co-operative.coop/toxicfuels
[9] http://www.normanbaker.org.uk/pr/2011/111124_lush.htm
[10] https://phoenix.lush.co.uk/content/view/2855 Norman Baker, MP: TARNISHED- Blowing his chance to keep dirty tar sands oil out of Europe
[11] In opposition, Norman Baker sponsored a Parliamentary Early Day Motion stating that tar sands cause “deforestation and pollution which threatens the lives and livelihoods of indigenous communities” and “that the continued expansion of tar sands extraction is incompatible with the emissions reductions needed to avoid catastrophic climate change” – see http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2009-10/1055
[12] NASA Scientist James Hansen has said that irreversible climate change is inevitable if all the oil in Canada’s tar sands is burned http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/feb/17/barack-obama-canada-climate-change

But this vital action on climate change is being blocked by the UK government. Lewes MP Norman Baker, as Transport Minister, is responsible for the UK’s position. He is opposing EU action on tar sands oil. Only last year Mr Baker had called for a stop to the extraction because of the huge climate impact of tar sands

It’s time to show Norman Baker that people in his constituency want him to do the right thing for the environment. Lush have got the ball rolling with thier amazing window display of Norman Baker being tarred. People and Planet have also set up online action for you to sign, tweet and share.

Join us as we stop the Tar Monster in its tracks!

On Saturday 26th November the people of Lewes will be getting a visit from an oily tar monster. The monster will be wandering the streets of Lewes to send a clear message to local MP Norman Baker to stop caving to Canadian lobbying efforts and make a commitment to effective climate policy.

Join us @10am outside the WHSmith on the main high street in Lewes. Invite people people along!

Email info@no-tar-sands.org for more information

The UK Tar Sands Network will be joined by South Coast Climate Camp, the Lewes District Green Party and Friends of the Earth Lewes

Transition Heathrow is delighted at being named the first Tar-Free community in the UK. At our recent Resistance Jam weekend, Sue and Emily from the UK Tar Sands Network visited Grow Heathrow to unveil a new banner they had prepared for us and to explain their new initiative.

It is becoming increasingly obvious that the capitalist system around us has gone crazy. Our total dependence on oil is socially self-destructing, and the only way our economy can sustain itself is by wrecking everything in its path in a quest for the last remaining dregs of unexploited oil reserves. The environmentally catastrophic Tar Sands extraction in Alberta is the foremost example of this.

Across the world communities are starting to stand up to illegitimate governments and corporations that continue to put profits before people. We need to join the dots between communities under threat. The forces trying to destroy communities around Heathrow airport are the same as those bringing destruction to Alberta. We at Transition Heathrow stand in solidarity with the indigenous communities who face losing their livelihoods, traditions and history through the complete destruction of their local environment.

We felt incredibly honoured when First Nations activists from Alberta chose to visit Transition Heathrow earlier this year, as part of the No Tar Sands UK tour. An evening of discussion and shared stories brought hope and inspiration to our separate struggles. Working together and supporting each other can only help communities under threat defend themselves.

Becoming a Tar-Free Town means making a commitment to only using ethical sources of energy. By themselves, our actions may not have much impact, but by acting together we can drive the Tar Sands out of our towns and out of the UK, and create a future where our energy needs are met without the rights of indigenous communities being trampled on.