“To Stop Global Warming” Now An Acceptable Excuse for Vandalism

So, have British courts become loonier than American courts?  From The Independent:

The threat of global warming is so great that campaigners were justified in causing more than £35,000 worth of damage to a coal-fired power station, a jury decided yesterday. In a verdict that will have shocked ministers and energy companies the jury at Maidstone Crown Court cleared six Greenpeace activists of criminal damage.

Jurors accepted defence arguments that the six had a "lawful excuse" to damage property at Kingsnorth power station in Kent to prevent even greater damage caused by climate change. The defence of "lawful excuse" under the Criminal Damage Act 1971 allows damage to be caused to property to prevent even greater damage – such as breaking down the door of a burning house to tackle a fire.

My inner liberal has a certain empathy for those who will do whatever it takes in the name of something they really believe in.  But isn’t working within the system supposed to be a more effective way of bringing about change?

This sort of defense would seem more likely to lead to chaos.  “But your honor, I had to torch that vehicle.  It was an SUV, and they’re contributing to global warming.   I didn’t realize someone was inside it….”