Star date: 16th January 2016

NO DASH FOR GAS BLOCKADES GAS FIRED POWER STATION SITE

"When flooding becomes the new normal, you can't carry on with business as usual".

Activists from No Dash For Gas have this morning blockaded the entrance to the construction site of the Carrington gas-fired power station, near Salford, halting work at the multi-million pound project.

The climate activists erected and climbed a scaffolding tripod, with a message in lights hanging six feet up reading 'Flood level 2050?' in reference to the link between extreme weather and fossil fuel extraction.

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No Dash For Gas activists have blockaded and stopped construction at the new Carrington gas-fired power station, and erected and climbed a scaffolding tripod, with a message in lights hanging six feet up reading 'Flood level 2050?'

The blockade coincides with a national solidarity demonstration taking place at the nearby contested fracking site, Upton – in the first wave of British anti-fossil fuel protests following the Paris climate talks.

"When flooding becomes the new normal, you can't carry on with business as usual" the occupiers explained "The decision to approve 159 new fracking licenses within days of signing the global climate agreement in Paris shows that, despite the rhetoric, this Government intends to keep putting their cronies before the climate.

"It's up to ordinary people now" they add "This is one of the first of Osborne's new generation of gas-fired power stations, but it's also the beginning of a year of action from a movement that has already won unexpected ground from the fracking industry. Continued blockades of sites like these have the potential to harm investor confidence, and anyone thinking of investing in Carlton Power needs to understand that they're backing a stranded asset. New gas has got to go."

Carrington is part of a plan for 14 new gas fired power stations across the country. A second fossil fuel powered plant on an adjacent plot to the existing construction site is currently seeking funding.

At the solidarity demonstration taking place in Upton, Chester, today, hundreds are expected to demonstrate against the eviction of the Community Protection Camp. Both actions are part of Reclaim the Power's 'Groundswell', a year of action for Climate Justice in 2016.

"We're inspired by the anti-fracking communities in Upton and beyond who've been holding an entire industry at bay for over three years" the activists added "This isn't just about energy policy. In the face of ever eroding democracy and widening inequality people are reclaiming their power. These are exciting times and the resistance to new fossil fuels is re-writing the political landscape."

The links between climate change and risks of flooding such as that seen in Salford recently are increasingly recognised. According to Carbon Brief, climate change increases the risk of exceptionally high rainfall by 50-75% .