On Saturday March 7 a coachload from Derbyshire marched with 25,000 others for our climate – and it was a stunning day. Everywhere gorgeous hand-painted banners, placards calling for climate solutions, (even a handmade wind turbine), a sea of campaigners with a giant painting of a wave. As groups arrived from across the UK by the coach-load and melded in a constant stream, the feeling was clear; wherever we’re from, whatever our angle, we’re all involved, all committed. An enormous throng of people jointed the anti-fracking protest with a huge Mr Frackhead puppet created by FOE. (You can see it, in this lovely short film of the march), The sun shone, our spirits soared – the collective momentum was palpable.

Over in Westminster all was eerily silent; are our leaders listening? HellOOO ?!
Our voice is getting louder. Today perhaps our politicians and potential candidates are a little more aware that we mean business, that we’ll not let up until they meet the climate challenge.

In case they think we’ll go quiet amid the bedlam of the election, we have actions coming up which will be a constant earache to them, culminating in a mass lobby of Parliament on 17 June.

We are trying to promote FaceBook (and some of us fogies trying to learn how to use it) so please search for Derby Climate Coalition in FaceBook, befriend us and tell your friends.

Lets continue to build a bigger, stronger climate movement than ever before – are you in?

Reg Hand

Secretary of Derby Climate Coalition

P.S. Thank you for the generous donations from Derby Trades Council and from those of you who were not able come on the coach.

Please join in with us and come to our PUBLIC DISCUSSION

 CLIMATE: WHAT IS THE IPCC UP TO?

Wednesday 16 April, 5.00 pm

The Council House, Derby
Room G

Introduced by Chris Crean

Organiser for Friends of the Earth

The Intergovernmental Panel (IPCC) on Climate Change officially released the “Fifth Assessment Report” from working group three on Sunday, 13/4/2014. [1] The report is on mitigation; which is described as “human intervention to reduce the sources or enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases”.[2] The IPCC has told the world yet again that climate change is a huge risk we must tackle. What is new is the clarity and urgency of the message. This report warns that governments are set to crash through the global CO2 safety threshold by 2030. Humans have tripled CO2 emissions since 1970, it says – and emissions have been accelerating rather than slowing. The report finds “without additional efforts to reduce GHG emissions… likely temperature increases from 3°C to more than 5°C” are projected by the end of the 21st Century”. It would also push us beyond ‘tipping points’[3] which would mean run-away climate change, with drastic shifts in the Earth’s natural systems including the melting of the Arctic and the Greenland ice-sheet leading to huge sea-level rise; and the dying-off of the Amazon jungle, triggering mass extinctions.

We will be showing a five minute video from leading climate scientist Prof Kevin Anderson on the need for urgency and ambition. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7pwpjthh6E

We suggest you share this on your social media platforms and tweet etc.

This meeting, on Wednesday the 16th, will also discuss ongoing business. One of the items is FRACKING. We will hear reports from what is happening and what can be done.