Climate activist Greta Thunberg faces trial in London

Climate activist Greta Thunberg is scheduled to appear in court in London on Thursday, where she will be charged with violating the public order in connection with her protest against the energy industry. The two-day trial of the 21-year-old Swedish activist is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:00 am (1000 GMT). During her initial hearing in November, Thunberg, a prominent figure in the global fight against climate change, entered a not guilty plea along with four other activists. After joining a large-scale protest, Thunberg was removed by two police officers and placed in the back of a van outside the Energy Intelligence Forum. She faces a maximum fine of £2,500 ($3,177). She was one of dozens activists arrested for disrupting access to the conference, which brought together major oil and gas companies at a luxury hotel in the British capital on October 17. Demonstrators greeted the forum participants with cries of “Shame on you!” while carrying placards reading “Stop Rosebank”, a reference to a controversial new North Sea oil field that the government authorised in September. London police arrested Thunberg for failing to adhere to an order not to block the street where the rally was taking place. Released on bail, she then took part in another demonstration in front of the five-star hotel the next day, along with hundreds of other people. The Conservative government in London’s reversals on pledges to combat climate change have angered campaigners. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has postponed a ban on the sale of combustion engine cars, and announced plans to grant new North Sea oil and gas licences as the country battles with an inflation-fuelled cost-of-living crisis. On Monday, the UK’s independent advisory body on climate strategy expressed concern that the government was sending out “mixed messages” that were tarnishing its international influence on the issue. Thunberg, who gained worldwide notoriety as a 15-year-old by staging school strikes in her native Sweden, regularly takes part in such demonstrations. She was fined in October for blocking the port of Malmo in Sweden, a few months after being forcibly removed by police during a demonstration against the use of coal in Germany. She also joined a march last weekend in southern England to protest against the expansion of Farnborough airport, which is mainly used by private jets. (with inputs from AFP)