XR Leeds get-togethers

As reported in our May newsletter, we’ve put a temporary hold on XR Leeds Crew meetings over the summer. We have relented on Socials, though! Come and join us for a drink and catch up on Thursday 26 June, 6pm-8pm at The Parkside Tavern, Merrion Street, Leeds LS2 8JE. You can usually find us in the outdoor area at the back of the pool room (weather permitting!)

If you have anything you’d like to bring to our attention in the meantime, anyone is welcome to join our Coordination Crew at the weekly online meetings. Our next one is on Thursday 12 June at 10am, just hop on using this link. If you’re unable to make that time, just send us an email: xrleeds@protonmail.com and we’ll do our best to accommodate you.

Dates for your diary in June

Wednesday 11 June – Green Drinks Leeds: 5.30pm to 8.00pm at Imagine Leeds, 9 Blenheim Terrace, LS2 9HZ. This month’s guest speaker is Harry Hartley, a building industry professional, talking about the science behind low carbon homes. There will also be an environmentally themed ‘pub’ quiz run by Greenpeace Leeds.

Saturday 14 June – Woodhouse & Hyde Park Green Fayre: 12pm-4pm, Woodhouse Cliff, LS6. XR Leeds has a stall at this lovely local event organised by Leeds Permaculture Network. Come along and say hello or get in touch if you can help on the day: xrleeds@protonmail.com

Sunday 15 June – We Demand Change: Leeds & West Yorkshire Summit at Beaver Works, 36 Woodhouse Street, Hunslet, LS10 1AD. This is a day of workshops and panels debating how we turn the tide on despair. Speakers include:

Richard Burgon MP • Salma Yaqoob • Shabbir Lakha • Jane Aitchison • Louise Regan • Emma Hewitt DPAC• Samira Ali • Lewis Nielsen • Artin Giles • Katie Spencer-Matthew, Care4Calais. There will also be workshops led by local activists (including our own Helen Hart!) and strikers. Book tickets here.

Friday 20 June – Stop Funding Climate Breakdown: midday, outside West Yorkshire Pension Fund, Aldermanbury House, 2-4 Godwin Street, Bradford BD1 2ST, a midsummer panto about the need to divest our pensions from fossil fuels.

Throughout June – 30 Days Wild: from planting wildflowers for bees, to listening to bird song, there’s so many ways to spend your wild month!

Early warning… Wednesday 9 July – mass lobby of Parliament: meet your MP at Westminster. Sign up here. There is more information in the CAN Bill update item below.

Summer local festivals outreach – come along!

We will have stalls at the events below over the summer – please let us know if you can help, even if it’s just for an hour or two. If you’ve not joined in on a stall before, it’s usually a fun day out (weather permitting!) and a great way to connect with fellow rebels, as well as reaching out to people in the community. You will not be on your own and full training can be given if needed. Or just make a note in your diary and come along to say hello on the day.  

Beeston Festival

Beeston Festival on Saturday 28 June, 12pm-5pm, at Cross Flatts Park, Beeston, LS11 7BQ. Come and join us at this celebration of life and diversity in this vibrant community. Please get in touch if you can help on the day: xrleeds@protonmail.com

Fix the Planning & Infrastructure Bill – now!

The draft Planning & Infrastructure Bill has reached a critical stage. Committee discussions have ended and the changes requested have been ignored. According to the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, nature is a ‘blocker’ to growth. This isn’t true. Experts, communities, scientific evidence and even the Government’s own advisers all agree a healthy environment is crucial for economic growth. Urge your MP to intervene by using this Broken Promises template email from the UK Wildlife Trusts.

Drax news

Sadly, on Tuesday this week, MPs voted through the extension of subsidies for Drax. It now progresses to the House of Lords, where we may have more influence. We’ll keep you updated on how to campaign in the next few weeks.

Dirty water news

38 Degrees have shared a detailed (mostly positive) response from Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who was keen to stress: “We are committed to people over payouts and cleaning up our waterways for good”. He has also announced a ban on unfair bonuses for any water company that fails to meet key standards. You can watch him answering a few questions posed by 38 Degrees members here.

Climate protestors in prison

The UK’s broken justice system is locking young activists away, but it’s all of us who suffer the consequences. Until Ella Ward’s arrest, she was a final-year environmental science student at the University of Leeds with hopes and dreams for after graduation. You can read what she has to say in this article.

You can also join War on Want’s “From Protest to Power” afternoon of activism and discussion on Saturday 14 June, 1.30pm to 4.30pm: War on Want | Fighting Global Poverty.

Stop airport expansion!

The campaign to stop Leeds Bradford Airport from expanding goes on. And so does action to scrap the government’s reckless and irresponsible Jet Zero Strategy, which relies on fantasy solutions to aviation’s greenhouse gas problem, like so-called ‘sustainable’ aviation fuel.

Local campaigners the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) are still taking the government to court to overturn Jet Zero. Despite a setback in the High Court, GALBA are appealing to the Court of Appeal against Jet Zero. As the Environmental Audit Committee has heard in its inquiry into aviation and net zero, the only reliable way to cut the emissions from flying is to fly less.  

Join The House of the People

From 20-22 July this year, the House of the People will debut as a parallel Parliament where ordinary people make decisions on the biggest issues facing our country. A representative snapshot of the public will meet for three days to listen to the concerns and hopes of local communities, learn about the science from experts and set out a new course for our country to take. 50 people will be nominated by their communities and 50 people will be selected by democratic lottery.

This is where we come in. Sign up to the House of the People lottery, for the chance to attend but hurry, the draw closes on Friday 13 June! Just follow this link to enter and share the lottery with your networks as well. People are needed from all over the country and all communities need to be involved, so the wider we share it the better!

Welfare not Warfare

On Saturday 7 June, the People’s Assembly is holding its No More Austerity march and rally. Trade unions and NHS workers, environmentalists and anti-war activists will be on the streets demanding an end to austerity. Our demand is Welfare not Warfare. Sign up here

Alternatively, join Leeds MP Richard Burgon’s Wealth Taxes not Cuts campaign. There’s an online meet-up on Monday 16 June at 6.30pm to find out more – you can register on this link.

Petitions

Too much plastic! Are you sick of still having to buy things wrapped in throw away plastic? You’re not alone… Please sign & share this petition – supermarkets broken plastic promises

Green our pensions! The UK Government is carrying out the biggest review of the pensions system in a generation. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to push them to make our pensions fairer and greener. Please sign & share this petition.

CAN Bill update – REAL Change Campaign by Zero Hour

A national coalition of climate and nature groups are organising a mass lobby in Westminster for Climate & Nature on Wednesday 9 July, ahead of the next stage of the Climate and Nature (CAN) Bill due in Parliament on Friday 11 July. You can join using this link: Act Now, Change Forever – The Climate Coalition.

Tell Starmer – deliver a just, green transition

On Tuesday, ahead of World Environment Day on 5 June, 24 union leaders representing over one million workers – including those from the National Education Union and Fire Brigade Union – handed in a letter to the government, urging them to address “the climate-nature crisis not as an abstract ideal but as an urgent battle to protect livelihoods, create decent work and deliver a just transition for all.” Haven’t yet signed your local open letter to the PM? You can sign up here.

Scrap Carbon Capture

Join Zero Hours’ Simon Oldridge alongside Dr Andrew Boswell, Ellen Robottom (Campaign against climate change) and Jessica Townsend (MP Watch) as we discuss how Carbon Capture and Storage will not deliver the REAL change our communities need. Sign up here

Good news stories

Greenwashing: explained by hamsters! WARNING: cuteness overload!

Hope for the Future’s Positive Imaginings Climate Circus: free family events in Yorkshire this summer. Find out more here – scroll down the page and look for the Positive Imaginings events.

The Hague’s world-first court ruling: a Dutch court has ruled that the health of citizens comes before the economic interests of fossil fuel advertisers. Landmark ruling should encourage more cities to ban fossil fuel ads, campaigners urge.

Nature is now officially a musician – and earning royalties: there is positive environmental news when it comes to nature’s profile in everyday life. Through the Sounds Right project, musicians including AURORA, Ellie Goulding and London Grammar, are making sure nature’s contribution to music gets recognised.

They are giving conservation causes a cut of the streaming royalties for songs that include nature sounds. The first chunk of money to be paid out will go to biodiversity projects in the forests of Colombia. As well as being a cool way to raise money, it’s also a bold challenge to the way we think about nature.