Fifty protesters with anti-aviation climate change activist group Plane Stupid have chained themselves together near the runway at Stansted airport. The group aims to draw attention to the CO2 emissions attributed to air travel, claiming each flight from the airport emits an average of 41.58 tons of CO2.

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Flights have been delayed while police deal with the situation and four protesters have already been arrested.

The group chose Stansted airport because the government recently approved a massive expansion project which will increase the number of passengers from 25 million to 35 million by adding 23,000 commercial flights a year.

“We’re here because our parents’ generation has failed us and it’s now down to young people to stop climate change by whatever peaceful means we have left,” one anonymous activist told the BBC. “We’re afraid of what the police might do to us, we’re afraid of going to jail but nothing scares us as much as the threat of runaway climate change.”

All true, but what should truly frighten people is how easy the activists gained access to the runway. One told reporters that all it took was a pair of bolt cutters.

Photo Credit: Plane Stupid