Activists in power station threat

One protester said that activists were ready to break the law peacefully in order to shut down the coal-fired plant already in operation on the site at Kingsnorth, Kent, and block the construction of the new facility.

The new power station would be the first coal-fired plant in the UK for more than 30 years, and owners E.ON say it will be cleaner than the facility it is replacing. But opponents say that no new power stations burning coal should be permitted unless they are fitted with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology which prevents the release into the atmosphere of carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the main greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

Protester Patrick Gillett told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It is about direct action outside the camp. We will break the law or do whatever needs to take place to stop E.ON peacefully from profiting from climate change. Last year they made £4.2 billion in profit from creating climate change.

"We are planning to shut the coal-fired power station down and we are planning to come back when they create a new coal-fired power station, because we are the last generation that can do it and if we don't then there is no future for any of us."

Simon Lewis, a researcher in earth systems science at Leeds University, who will join the camp when it officially opens on Sunday, said that - if built as currently planned - Kingsnorth will emit six million tonnes of CO2 a year, the equivalent of a country like Cameroon or Costa Rica.

Dr Lewis told Today: "It is really unacceptable at this time. If one of the richest countries in the world can't stop using the most polluting fuel to produce electricity, which is what the Kingsnorth proposal will do, then how are we going to get an international agreement on climate change that is due to be signed in Copenhagen next year?

"This decision on Kingsnorth is a political tipping point because if we don't say no to unabated coal here, how can we say anything to China and India? No-one will respect the UK's opinion."

But energy minister Malcolm Wicks said that protesters were naive, as a single new plant in the UK would have a tiny impact compared to the rapid development of power generation in countries like China.

"The real prize is to develop technologies so that the CCS technology can be retro-fitted onto coal-fired plants in countries like China," he said. "Our decisions about any one application for a coal plant in Britain are pretty small fry compared to the risk of global CO2 emissions in coming years."