Hundreds of environmental activists have begun setting up camp outside Heathrow Airport in Britain to expose the link between aviation and global warming. Protesters are expected to take part in the Camp for Climate Action for the next seven days.

British protester: “Well, it’s the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gases, and the British government is intending to expand 31 — no, sorry, 21 different airports around the country. Now if they do that, it’s equivalent to building a new Heathrow every five years, and basically, in the time of climate crisis, that is absolute madness. If they do that, the emissions that they will create from building those airports and expanding those airports is equivalent to our whole quota of what we are supposed to be emitting by 2050. So we use up our whole quota just on aviation before we switch on a single light or before we heat a single room.”

A “day of action” at Heathrow is planned for Sunday. The Guardian newspaper reports armed police plan to use anti-terrorism laws to deal with the climate change protesters. The law gives police powers to stop and search people and vehicles for anything that could be used in connection with terrorism, search people even if they do not have evidence to suspect them, hold people for up to a month without charge, and to search homes.