EAST COMBINED AUTHORITY MAYORAL HUSTINGS 7PM WEDNESDAY 17TH APRIL 2024

How will the new East Midlands Mayor tackle the climate and ecological emergency?

Hustings event – 17^th April 2024 at 7pm

Five candidates for the new Mayor of the East Midlands Combined Authority will be grilled on climate, environmental and social justice issues at an online hustings https://bit.ly/3vHEwAV on Wednesday 17 April at 7pm. The hustings is organised by a wide coalition of environmental and climate groups, coordinated by Friends of the Earth and co-hosted with Fuel Poverty Action, D2N2 Active Travel Alliance (Sustrans, Cycle UK, Living Streets and Ridewise), Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.

Friends of the Earth’s campaign organiser for the East Midlands Richard Dyer said:

“The new Mayor will have new powers and funding that can be used to help our region tackle the climate and ecological emergency. They can’t single-handedly solve the crisis, but they must use the powers they have to make as big a difference as possible. They have a very important role to play in providing a guiding vision for the area, and will need to work with councils, businesses, local communities and the national government.”

The coalition are asking all the candidates to sign a climate pledge https://bit.ly/3U4Uoqz and have sent them a 10 point Climate Action Plan for the East Midlands https://bit.ly/3xyzVRY . The Plan covers the Coalition’s priorities for protecting people and planet, including: reducing home energy use, supporting green jobs, radically increasing public transport use and active travel, protecting and enhancing nature, promoting renewable energy and only using ‘green’ hydrogen from renewable energy sources.

Anyone wanting to attend the hustings can register their place online  https://bit.ly/3vHEwAV

Members of the Friends of the Earth coalition include: Broxtowe Green Umbrella, Burton Joyce Climate Action, Canopy 2050, Climate Action North-East Derbyshire, Climate Action Notts, CPRE Notts, Derby Climate Coalition, Derbyshire Climate Coalition, Derbyshire Dales Climate Hub, High Peak Green New Deal, Hope Valley Climate Action, Nottingham Friends of the Earth, Nottingham Pedals cycle campaign, Sherwood Forest Friends of the Earth, Sustrans, Tideswell and District Environment Group, Transition Chesterfield, Teversal, Stanton Hill and Skegby Neighbourhood Forum, Young Friends of the Earth Notts .

For more information contact Richard Dyer: Richard.Dyer@foe.co.uk or 07856 683193

Are you overwhelmed by the amount of information on  the climate and ecological crisis we are now all experiencing but want to know the  key facts and, more importantly, what  the solutions are?  Then read this book;

Simply Climate Change

by Professor Frans Berkhout. Professor of Environment, Society and Climate   at Kings College London and others. Published by Dorling Kindersley  published November 2021.  ISBN 978-0 2415-1607-2. Price £9.99.

This 160 page book can easily be read in just a few evenings because it contains impactive diagrams and visuals on every  page with only a small amount of text to get the most  important points across in a way that is easily understandable.   Readers will very quickly understand the science behind  climate change, its impacts, the speed and scale of the changes climate change is causing and how we can all make a contribution to avoid the worst impacts of global heating .

We all know that the threat of climate breakdown is real and will have enormous consequences in all sorts of ways.
 
Derby Climate Coalition is holding a face-to-face meeting 
–  at St Peters Church, St Peters Street, Derby, 7:00 pm on Tuesday October the third – 
which will give us an opportunity to talk with elected members and officers from Derby City Council about what the Council is planning to do to tackle the carbon emissions across the city. It is not about the Council’s own carbon footprint (which is less than two per cent of the city emissions), nor is it about what individuals can do about their own carbon footprint. 

Here is the agenda 

• The vision for Derby
• The city’s   carbon emissions
• The proposed sustainability and environment board
• The A38 and the Council  
• The climate forum  

These topics will be introduced by  
Carmel Swan, the member of the Cabinet responsible for climate and transport 
Rachel North, Deputy Chief Executive of the Council  

Other officers, and hopefully councillors, will be in attendance.  
 
Places will be limited. So please book a place here

Refreshments available from 6.30 pm.

Our Government’s own advisors on the climate crisis, the Climate Change Committee(CCC) have repeatedly stressed how important our local councils are  in the fight to reverse the climate change we are now all experiencing with July 2023 just the latest example as the hottest month ever recorded globally. 

In 2021 in it Net ZeroStrategy, our  Government said that “devolved and local government(councils) play an essential role in meeting national net zero ambitions” because it “is best placed to integrate activity on the ground” and to inspire “action by, local businesses, communities, and civil society”.

According to the CCC, councils, including Derby,  have either direct power or some influence  over roughly one third of all climate changing greenhouse gas emissions in their local area.   Thats  control or influence over more than 4 million tonnes of the 13.7 million tonnes of  carbon dioxide and other climate changing gases released every year in  Derby.  

So we should  be drawing our council’s attention to examples of the imaginative,  practical and  effective actions being taken by other councils in the UK to cut greenhouse gas emissions and save their citizens money.  These councils are achieving this  despite the lack of money and powers from central government to do so.  Friends of the Earth have compiled case studies showing what these councils have achieved.  To be inspired, go to;

https://groups.friendsoftheearth.uk/resources/councils-tackling-climate-chaos

So we should be asking our own council what they are doing to help us all contribute to making  the drastic cuts in emissions scientists say we need to make by 2030 to avoid catastrophic climate change. – and save us money, now and in the future!    You can do this by responding to the consultation Derby City Council have launched at; 

https://letstalk.derby.gov.uk/climate-change-background

After the approval of the A38 Derby Junctions road expansion on the 18th August, we’re preparing to challenge it again to halt this harmful and unnecessary project.

Thank you to everyone who signed this petition. We started this petition 3 years ago when the A38 expansion was in the examination phase prior to approval. We handed the petition to Derby City Council and the Department for Transport who both dismissed it. It was our legal challenge in 2021 which stopped this destructive scheme and now the Government has pushed it through the again, we’re challenging it again. 

Continue reading sTOP THE A38 Derby Junctions road expansion →

THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY AND THE RIGHT TO PROTEST
An online meeting on Tues 11 July 7.30 pm with

·        Tom Davies, Amnesty International

·        Mair Bain, local climate activist

·        Matt Foot, socialist lawyer

ALL WELCOME BUT REGISTRATION NEEDED

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

The climate emergency needs immediate action at a governmental level. Governments are usually focussed on short term measures and usually only take action on longer term issues following pressure from outside.

The ability to engage in direct action is a vital component of a functioning democracy, providing a platform for all citizens to demand accountability and change.

Irrespective of whether one agrees with every protest by environmental activists, the right to protest is under threat. Recent changes to UK legislation threaten this democratic right and hinder progress on urgent environmental issues.

Come and join the online discussion organised by Derbyshire Climate Coalition and Amnesty International . 

Thursday 22nd June at Derby Quad
10:20 – 13:30

Want to help tackle climate change but don’t
have the time to become a climate scientist?

In just three hours, the collaborative
Climate Fresk workshop will teach you the
fundamental science behind climate
change and empower you to take actionTo find out more about Climate Fresk go to climatefresk.org
Supported by Derby Climate Coalition.

To book a place   click here

You are invited to a Zoom meeting organised by Derbyshire Climate Coalition
Monday 6 March; 07:00 – 8.30 pm
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwtf-CqqD0iE9dzoiU6EdJq4ShIAyjHftD6

This meeting will start by discussing the arrangements and nature of the planned Extinction Rebellion protest in London on April 21, then will lead into an exploration of the role of non-violent direct action and then into a general discussion about movements from below. There will be contributions from Adrian Howlett  from XR, somebody from Just Stop Oil, Peter Robinson, from Derbyshire Climate Coalition and a Trade Unionist.