HS2 are destroying ancient woodlands right now.
HS2 started felling ancient woodlands during nesting season. Woodland protection camps have been established and more are on their way. HS2 are seeking injunctions to keep woodland protectors away. We need to stand for the trees and all the wildlife they hold.
HS2 is the biggest and most destructive construction project the UK has ever seen. It's almost 100 miles longer than any motorway ever built in the UK, as wide as a runway in many places, and will do nothing but worsen the Climate and Ecological Emergency declared by Parliament just last year.
HS2 will impact over 100 ancient woodlands.
HS2 is set to destroy almost 700 wildlife sites, impacting over 100 irreplaceable ancient woodlands, home to over 250 species, some already endangered.
HS2's construction will be a climate catastrophe, won't be carbon neutral for many decades and is completely incompatible with the UK's Net Zero Emissions target, currently set for 2050.
HS2 will accelerate airport expansion.
To top it all, HS2 will enable large-scale airport expansion. Heathrow Airport's expansion is halted, for now. However, HS2 will deliver a huge increase in air passengers, first of all, to Birmingham Airport from central London, faster than they can get to Heathrow. Boris even pointed this out in his HS2 approval speech.
Birmingham Airport are already planning to spend £500million to expand by 40% thanks to HS2. From there, HS2 will also deliver increasing numbers of air passengers to East Midlands, Leeds and Manchester Airports. They will all need to expand.
HS2 is Boris' escape plan for Heathrow. He's just moving the flights elsewhere.
HS2 will take us closer to ecological disaster.
Every mad decision our Government makes takes us closer to climate and ecological disaster. HS2 is one of the maddest. Our actions this decade will decide if we successfully address the Climate and Ecological Emergency, declared by Parliament in 2019.
In February, at the COP26 launch with Sir David Attenborough, Boris Johnson announced that, 'Only by repairing the damage to the natural world and restoring the balance between humanity and nature - which is now so grotesquely out of kilter - that we can address the problems of climate change. And of course at the same time we have to deal with our CO2 emissions and that is why the UK is calling for us to get to Net Zero as soon as possible'.
The following week Boris approved HS2, taking us in the opposite direction and betraying us all.
We have an opportunity to stop it and need your help.
HS2 is an express train to climate and ecological disaster.
Boris has left us with no other option than to defend our countryside, wildlife and climate from HS2, until the project is stopped and rethought. Brave people are already coming together along the line to establish woodland protection camps. Eight of these camps already exist. They need support. More camps are needed now and even more in the near future.
Funds raised will be used to establish and equip camps with kitchens, food, tents, tarpaulin, outdoor equipment, tech for live broadcasts/rapid news sharing, legal support for wildlife and activists, banners and other equipment.
There will also be an educational bus tour, reaching out to local communities along the line, to deliver trainings, information and equipment.
Major environmental organisations all agree - It's time to stop and rethink HS2.
The range of organisations demanding our Government stop and rethink HS2 is broad, from Extinction Rebellion, Client Earth, The National Trust, Greenpeace, Friends Of The Earth, RSPB, Ramblers, The Wildlife Trusts, The Woodland Trust, WWF and more. The woodland camps are independent from these organisations, although include supporters from many of them.
Help us take immediate action to defend our woodlands.
Find out more at www.StopHS2.org, StandForTheTrees.org, ReThinkHS2.org, HS2Rebellion.earth and HS2Rebellion.org