The Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior left Kingsnorth power station early yesterday after being served with a high court injunction.

The 55-metre vessel led a nine-boat armada on Wednesday to the site of plans for the UK's first coal fired plant in 30 years. Dozens of climate campaigners boarded the coal delivery jetty and held a sombre and dignified ceremony for the victims of climate change, whilst a team of six occupied a small concrete island owned by E.ON in the shadow of the power station until shortly before 10pm.

German energy giant E.ON are proposing to build a new plant, which would emit the same amount of carbon dioxide as the 30 least polluting countries in the world combined, on the site.

The Greenpeace volunteers carried the flags of those nations, including countries such as Cameroon and Mali, onto the jetty.

The new Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband is expected to make a decision on whether or not to permit the new plant within the next few months.

A coalition of development charities, environment groups and scientists is demanding that the government blocks E.ON’s plans.

Two members of the team occupying the island were amongst the six Greenpeace campaigners who were cleared by a Crown Court following last year’s shutdown of the power station.

A Maidstone jury concluded the activists were justified in shutting the power station because coal burning is such a significant contributor to climate change.

Earlier this week the directors of groups including Oxfam, the Women’s Institute and Tearfund – with a combined membership of four million – boarded the Rainbow Warrior to sign a declaration committing themselves to stopping a new Kingsnorth.

The new power station would, campaigners claim, emit about eight million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year – the same as the existing plant.

Critics say thus would spell the end of the UK’s chances of meeting its own carbon reduction targets.