It’s so good to be able to start this newsletter with some really great news! Climate Action Leeds has secured funding which will enable them to keep supporting community-led climate action for at least three more years! Well done to all the team for all their hard work in making this happen. You can read all about it here.

Coming up this month…

Friday, 19th June, 1.30pm-4.30pm – People’s Emergency Briefing, VIP Film Screening Event at Leeds Civic Hall: ask your MPs and local councillors to attend and see below for more on how you can help make this a huge success. If you haven’t seen the film yet, there are many more public screenings happening this month. Check out the NEB National Screening Map here and these local screenings:

6th-14th June – Great Big Green Week: Great Big Green Week is the UK’s biggest celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature. Find out all the details here.

Monday 22nd June, 5.30pm-8pm – Green Drinks Leeds: join us at Imagine Leeds, 9 Blenheim Terrace, Leeds LS2 9HZ. Meet up with XR Leeds members and other environmentally-minded folks and groups from across the city. This month’s guest speaker is from Fruit Works Co-operative and there’ll be the usual dastardly “pub quiz”. Find out more and register here.

Thursday 25th June, 10am-12noon – Transport Transparency Protest at WYCA’s AGM: Wellington House, 40-50 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 2DE. Join Megaphone and Better Buses for West Yorkshire in calling on Mayor Tracy Brabin to open her doors and restore faith in local government by giving us Transport Transparency. More details and sign up here.

All of June 2026: Month of Action against Harmful Finance

This June, Boycott Bloody Insurance and Bank Better are calling on local groups, community organisations, and campaign networks across the country to take part in a coordinated Month of Action. Together, we will build momentum for a growing movement urging institutions and employers to withdraw their money from the worst banks and insurers (those linked to fossil fuels, arms, and migrant detention) and switch to ethical financial providers.

This is a pivotal moment to turn concern into collective action. By organising locally and acting together nationally and internationally, we can increase pressure on financial institutions. As our small team of coordinators at XR Leeds are currently flat out with the National Emergency Briefing, we’d appreciate anyone who’s interested to take this forward in Leeds. You can find out more here.

Looking ahead…

13th – 16th August: Join us at The Northern Green Gathering! We’ll be helping out in the Campaigns Area again this year so let us know if you’d like to help or have an idea for a talk or workshop (xrleeds@protonmail.com)


People’s Emergency Briefing VIP Screening Event at Leeds Civic Hall, Friday 19 June

We’re now in the final planning stages within Climate Action Leeds for their high-profile screening at Leeds Civic Hall’s Banquet Hall on the afternoon of Friday, 19th June. We’ve invited Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, along with all Leeds MPs and Councillors as well as dignitaries from a full range of diverse sectors.

They will view the film and take part in solutions-focused discussions afterwards, showcasing inspiring projects already happening in Leeds. They will be hearing from local experts on what more needs to be achieved and look at ways we can work across all sectors to make Leeds one of the most informed, prepared and sustainable cities in the country.  

Like to Help?

We’re still looking for a few more facilitators for each of the themed tables, so please get in touch if you can help on the day (brief facilitation training will be provided where needed) – message us on the XR Leeds Whatsapp chat, send us an email (xrleeds@protonmail.com ) or join our Leeds NEB Planning Whatsapp chat group

You can also help by getting in touch with your own MP and/or local councillors to urge them to attend this event. An official invitation has already been sent to them from Cllr Katie Dye (Co-Chair of Leeds Climate Commission and Chair of Leeds’ Climate Change Advisory Committee) but it doesn’t hurt to give them a nudge and let them know your hopes and concerns.

Sign and share the NEB’s new Parliamentary Petition calling for a UK-wide public briefing from independent experts on the risks posed by climate change and nature loss – and the opportunities if we respond at scale and with urgency.

Nature and National Security Bill

Zero Hour has launched the NATURE + NATIONAL SECURITY BILL – a bold new, science-led response to the emergency that will ensure nature is treated as critical infrastructure vital for the UK’s national security. Find out more in this video and ask your MP to support the #NNSBill. This is the last, best chance we have for the UK to show leadership and act on the warning made by DEFRA, the Joint Intelligence Committee and the National Emergency Briefing – steering the country towards a future where we can thrive, not merely survive.

Love and Rage: 12th, 13th, 14th September, London

With fire in our hearts, we will spark and sustain a spirit of creative, nonviolent rebellion to disrupt and pressure the perpetrators of climate and ecological injustice and drive systemic change through equal participation in power.

A long hot weekend of workshops and discussions with a creative finale, join and stay as long as you’re able. We need people right now, to help make this happen. Role details here – we welcome job shares for these roles and can be flexible about time commitments. More info available on the Rebel Toolkit.

Stop Airport Expansion – no more night flights!

Leeds Bradford Airport has been allowed to fly an additional 941 planes at night every year. That’s on top of the 4,000 night flights already allowed. This happened because Leeds City Council accepted evidence from LBA that the airport had broken the night flight rules for over 10 years. Crazy, but the law allows LBA to keep on breaking the rules because it didn’t get caught for 10 years.

The good news is that LBA didn’t get everything it wanted. They had asked the council for no limit at all on the number of night flights. That would have been very, very bad indeed. It’s likely that LBA will make a new planning application at some point to get permission for even more night time flying, so watch this space for updates.

The Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) desperately needs funds for their legal work. If you can afford to help, please make a donation – the details are here.

Petitions

Stop Big Oil Billionnaires polluting our seas for profit: Oceana UK has started this petition to Keir Starmer. Offshore oil and gas pollutes UK seas and harms ocean wildlife. It also makes the UK dependent on unpredictable and volatile fossil fuel markets, and subject to price shocks created by global conflict. We are on the cusp of enshrining in law the end to oil and gas in UK seas. Now is our once-in-generation chance to make it happen – please sign here.

Demand Bonn Climate Meetings provide 100% Plant-based Catering: from June 8-18 this year, the United Nations will hold the 64th session of its Subsidiary Bodies (SB64) in Bonn, Germany. Plant Based Treaty are asking the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to show climate action leadership by requiring that the Bonn Climate Meetings (SB64) held each year provide 100% plant-based catering. They are also calling for immediate negotiations toward a global Plant Based Treaty as a companion to the Paris Agreement.  Sign the petition here and help it grow by sharing on your social media platforms.

Good News

UN General Assembly resolves to phase out fossil fuels

Last week, 141 governments across the World backed a UN resolution to phase out fossil fuels and protect their people from climate collapse, following last year’s advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice. Of course, there was push back from, well, guess who? Read more about it here.


Landmark win for the ocean

In May, Client Earth won a landmark case to protect one of Europe’s most important marine sanctuaries: the Dogger Bank. The court ruling sets a precedent for governments across Europe and sends a clear message: protected must mean protected. The Netherlands still allow destructive bottom trawling to continue in the Dutch section of the Dogger Bank – a key nursery and Natura 200 recovery area for fish stocks. But without healthy fish stocks there is no fishing.

EU law is clear: governments must protect sensitive areas from destructive human activities. Yet Dutch bottom trawlers are still allowed to fish there, even without permit, and that is unlawful. So, Client Earth took the Dutch government to court with Doggerland Foundation, ARK Rewilding Nederland and Blue Marine Foundation – and won!

For the first time in Europe, the judges have confirmed that governments are responsible for properly regulating the impact of bottom trawling on Marine Protected Areas. They’re demanding full closure of the area to bottom trawling to give this ecosystem a real chance to recover. This will support small-scale and low-impact fishing in the long term.