-
Alain Robert, or Spiderman - Source: Close Up -
Watch Video
A French stuntman has denied putting lives at risk by scaling a Sydney building, saying his stunt was a protest at political inaction on climate change.
Alain Philippe Robert, 48, calls himself the real life Spiderman and is famous all over the world for his antics.
He has made a career out of buildering, the term for climbing skyscrapers and massively high buildings without any ropes or climbing gear.
But on August 30 he got on the wrong side of the law in Sydney, and was arrested after he climbed the 56-storey Lumiere Building in central Sydney.
He was arrested at the top and charged with reckless endangerment, and pleaded not guilty in a Sydney courtroom today.
Robert told TV ONE's Close Up programme that he always chooses buildings where people on the street will not be endangered if he falls.
"That's the reason I don't want to plead guilty to reckless endangerment," he said.
"We are going to demonstrate that I am right by using a physicist who is going to show to the magistrate that actually I didn't injure people."
During his ascent, Robert, unfurled a banner to raise awareness of the One Hundred Months climate change campaign.
The campaign suggests that after 100 months from August 2008 it may no longer be possible to avoid irreversible climate change.
Outside court on Friday, Robert told reporters he had been raising awareness of climate change and expressed his disappointment at comments made by Australian opposition leader Tony Abbott in 2009 that climate change was "crap".
"I've been sad hearing that Mr Abbott was saying that global warming was crap," he said.
"I think in a way it's a little bit irresponsible to say that."
Robert denied suggestions he was disrespectful of Australian law.
"I was not endangering people ... there was no point for me to plead guilty," said Robert.
"Why should I plead guilty? I didn't break any fences, I didn't break the door, I used a lift."
Robert said he had no plans to come to New Zealand, as he didn't know if there were any tall buildings there. He hadn't heard of the Sky Tower.
But he said he will definitely keep going, and plans to keep climbing for another 10 years at least.
Last year, Robert was fined $750 for illegally climbing the 41-storey Royal Bank of Scotland Building in Sydney.
The latest charges have been adjourned until October 15.
