In this week’s Down To Earth newsletter: The global crackdown against climate activists and groups is clearly part of the fossil fuel industry’s strategy to crush dissent and keep burning the planet
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Back in early August, I reported on the arrest of two climate activists outside the New York headquarters of Citibank, one of the world’s largest fossil fuel financiers and target of a campaign known as Summer of Heat.
John Mark Rozendaal, a former music instructor at Princeton University, and Alec Connon, director of the climate nonprofit group Stop the Money Pipeline, were detained for 24 hours and charged with criminal contempt, which carries up to seven years in prison. Why? Rozendaal was playing a Bach solo on his cello while Connon sheltered him with an umbrella – which police claimed broke the conditions of a temporary restraining order that related to another bogus charge of assault (that was later dropped).
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Fury as US argues against climate obligations at top UN court
Britain leads the world in cracking down on climate activism, study finds
Europe was a leader on saving nature. Now, its backsliding could threaten global progress
