Climate Necessity
The Lobster Boat Blockade has provided an incredible opportunity for the climate movement to pursue a new legal tactic in our effort to push for immediate and dramatic emissions reductions. Ken and Jay are preparing to mount a “necessity defense” – potentially the first ever in the US climate movement. This is a powerful opportunity to showcase the seriousness of the climate crisis in a court of law, and put climate change on trial.
- Ken and Jay choose to take this action because they see no alternative – in both practical political terms and as a moral obligation. Ken has worked on climate change since 1989, as both a professional environmentalists and climate activist, and Jay has been an active citizen organizer working on climate since 2008. Neither have been arrested or charged with any crime before, and are good candidates for a watershed trial.
- Making a necessity defense means they admit their action and argue that the threat of passing the climate change point of no return is evident and immediate, the contribution of coal burning is clear-cut, available legal avenues for averting the crisis have been tried and are inadequate, and therefore, they were justified in taking action to directly prevent further injury.
- Our expert witnesses include Dr. James Hansen, Bill McKibben, and Peter Parenteau and our legal team is headed by accomplished criminal attorney Joan M. Fund and climate legal expert Matt Pawa.
- This could be the first time that a climate necessity defense is launched in the United States, providing a legal background and encouragement for a renewed wave of direct action around the country.
Could you step in to help this trial succeed as a model for the climate movement around the country?
What We Need & What You Get
We need to raise $10,000 to ensure that this trial is put to its best use.
- Money will be used to pay travel and other expenses for experts testifying at the trial, for communication and documentation of the trial, banners and art supplies for trial festivities, and as a fund to help defray court costs and any fines that are levied.
- Check out the awesome perks we have: custom art, dinner with Ken and Jay… or an awesome Life Raft!
- In the event that the prosecutors drop the charges, funds will be used to further other climate legal defense work.
The Impact
There are substantial obstacles to presenting a necessity defense, but figuring out how to overcome them is important part of a national climate strategy. Merely advancing the argument in court will be a substantial achievement, paving the way for other cases, and provided a roadmap for use in other trials.
Unlike most attempts to mount necessity defenses, Ken and Jay have a very strong case. First, there is no question that we are facing real and imminent danger, with the world’s most credible climate scientist, Jim Hansen to explain, and the recent report of the UN sanctioned Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as evidence.
Second, the action was taken with the explicit objective of launching a regional protest movement aimed at pressing Brayton Point owners and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to shut the plant down immediately. The Lobster Boat action did jumpstart a regional protest movement and five months later, plant owners announced a shutdown.
Finally, as individuals and supporters within a broader movement, Ken and Jay have pursued every legal avenue open to them to avert this crisis. They have lobbied, litigated, organized, campaigned, raised the issue in the electoral arena, promoted alternatives, educated the public and taken other actions to zero effect.
Other Ways You Can Help
If you can’t contribute money, that doesn’t mean you can’t help:
- Plan to join us in court at the Fall River Justice Center this summer. We do not yet have a definitive trial date, but follow the blog and join the mailing list at www.lobsterboatblockade.org.
- Use the share buttons on this page to tell your Facebook friends to support the trial!
Thank you so much for all you do, and for joining us on this journey!