Interesting Times…

No doubt you have noted all the kerfuffle as peaceful campaign groups, including ours, still reel from the proscription under the Terrorism Act of a certain peaceful, direct action, protest organisation who cannot be named here!

That fact alone should set alarms ringing but XR’s legal team are advising that, following the 5th July ruling, we cannot offer our support under the XR banner, though as an individual you can decide for yourself. Ironically, the same week the media was black-listing the organisation who cannot be named, they were reporting on the atrocities of actual terrorists in the London 7/7 commemorations. Go figure?

It remains to be seen what the outcome will be as wide condemnation mounts and a legal challenge proceeds over the coming weeks and months. We’ll keep you informed as best we can. For starters, here’s a reasoned panel discussion on the subject recently aired on Al Jazeera. In the meantime, if you feel so moved, please sign the Defend Your Right To Protest petition below, urging the government to rethink their position.

Meanwhile, we’ve had another busy month of outreach here at XR Leeds, with a lovely time at the Kirkstall Festival and a successful Heat Strike! Day in Leeds, handing out over 600 leaflets. A big thank you to everyone who helped out.

😀 And a warm welcome to our new members… Andy, Emma, Sophie, Naseer, Valentina & Ged 😀

In this month’s newsletter…

Dates for your diary in August

5th August, 7pm online: What next for the Climate and Nature (CAN) Bill? Join Zero Hour’s online meeting for the next stage of the campaign (see below for more).

5th August, 3pm-5pm online: Celebration of the Life of Joanna Macy (see more in Activist Wellbeing section below)

12th August, 7pm-8pm online: World Water Wedding Open Meeting – ahead of the month of action from 25th August to 27th September 2025. Find out all you need to know here.

13th August, 5.30pm to 8.00pm, in person: Green Drinks Leeds at Imagine Leeds, the Climate Action Hub, 9 Blenheim Terrace, Leeds LS2 9HZ. Alongside the usual food, drinks and networking, this month’s guest speakers are Claude Hendrickson and Anzir Boodoo talking about international solidarity in the climate movement. More details here.

14th-17th August: The Northern Green Gathering Festival, Newland Park, Normanton, Wakefield WF6 2GA. We’re helping to organise the Campaigns Area at this popular, family-friendly festival. There’ll be a range of stalls, workshops, performances and listening circles. Find more information and book your tickets here. A small team of us will be doing some art blocking to prepare banners and flags for this event – please come along if you’d like to help on Monday, 4th August, 1pm-4pm at Imagine Leeds: the Climate Action Hub, 9 Blenheim Terrace, Leeds LS2 9HZ.

28th August, 6pm-8pm: XR Leeds Social Gathering 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). Among other things we will be talking about what’s next for Climate Action Leeds (see below for more).

Looking ahead….

6th September: Stop Rosebank National Day of Action (see below for more)

10th September: ask your MP to attend a meeting in Parliament about cutting the emissions caused by flying (see below for more)

20th September: “Make Them Pay” Global Day of Action, Climate Justice Coalition (see below for more)

8th-22nd September: Insure our Survival Week of Action – look out for more info in the coming weeks. If you can offer some help with outreach, comms & media, or creative content email: insureoursurvival@gmail.com

CAN Bill: What Next? – REAL Change Campaign by Zero Hour

On 9th July, 5,000 people descended on Westminster to meet their MP and stress the importance of climate and nature action. Among them were over 200 Climate and Nature Bill campaigners, who met with more than 135 MPs to urge support for this vital legislation.

This was followed by the Government’s first annual climate and nature statement a direct result of all of our campaigning. When we show up in numbers, they listen!

That’s why, to deliver real change, we must keep building pressure in every constituency across the UK. Our MPs need to hear us and understand that new climate and nature legislation is a win-win-win for energy security, food security and helping with the cost of living.

We need our MPs, as our elected representatives, to stand up and help deliver the legislation urgently needed to tackle the climate and nature crisis. One of the most powerful ways to make this happen is by meeting your MP and making the case directly.

Want to help? Join Zero Hour’s briefing call on Tuesday, 5 August at 7pm to find out why the CAN Bill is so necessary and what YOU can do to help deliver it into law.

Drax door-knocking campaign

The Stop Burning Trees Coalition are launching a pilot door-knocking campaign. The pilot will focus on Selby, the nearest town to Drax power station. Door knocking is a great way to strengthen support for the campaign, develop links with workers and deepen our understanding of how Drax is perceived locally. Door knocking has a proven track record of success across numerous campaigns and is a great way to build meaningful connections to support a better future for local people. Full training will be given so no previous experience is needed, just a willingness to get stuck in. If you’d like to get involved you can sign up here.

Say No to AI Data Centre at Drax

Drax power station, together with the University of York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, have just put in a bid to build a new tree-burning-powered AI Data Centre at Drax. If this goes ahead, it will fly in the face of government promises that Drax will be burning half as many trees from 2027-2031 and will mean more forests destroyed, communities polluted and huge climate-wrecking carbon emissions.

We need to make it clear to the government, the University of York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority that we oppose these plans. There is no place for tree burning in our future, we urgently need to transition to real green energy and jobs – not another greenwashed scam. Sign the petition

Join the Stop Burning Trees Coalition Whatsapp announcement channel to stay up to date.

Victory! Campaigners stop unlimited night flights at Leeds Bradford Airport

Leeds Bradford Airport has lost its attempt to fly unlimited numbers of planes through the night, thanks to the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) and Leeds City Council.

After a four day Public Inquiry, planning inspectors have ruled against the airport and now they must stick to the night flight limits. Prior to the Public Inquiry, the airport was blatantly ignoring the rules and operated hundreds of illegal night flights every summer. It was only as a result of GALBA’s detailed monitoring that these breaches were brought to light, culminating in the Public Inquiry.

This is a massive win for local people and the climate! Flying more planes at night is key to the airport’s expansion plans and everyone knows that more planes would mean more pollution, harming the climate we all depend on. We don’t know what the airport’s bosses will try to do next but we do know that people power works and GALBA is ready to take on LBA again and stop them again.

Ask your MP to attend an aviation & climate meeting in Parliament

A tiny group of people are driving a huge chunk of carbon emissions. Recent research shows that just 3% of people are responsible for a quarter of emissions from UK flights. Yet the government is still pushing ahead with airport expansion, making it easier for the most frequent flyers to pollute even more, while the rest of us pay the price.

MPs will get the chance to learn about how to cut aviation emissions at a Parliamentary meeting on 10 September. We need as many MPs there as possible and that’s where you come in. MPs are much more likely to pay attention when they hear directly from the people they represent. It only takes two minutes and the email is ready for you to send.

Help us save Climate Action Leeds!

We have been working hard with Climate Action Leeds in recent months, in order to secure the next phase of the project after their funding runs out in September. In particular, we need help secure a new venue for Imagine Leeds: the Climate Action Hub. We really appreciated the Yorkshire Evening Post’s article on Monday 27th July, appealing for help to save the project.

Please get in touch (xrleeds@protonmail.com) if you’d like to get involved and especially if you can offer any skills or experience in fundraising, sponsorship, communications or building procurement.

Petitions to sign & share

Defend your right to protest

The Labour government is doubling down on the previous government’s crackdown on peaceful protest – one of many vital tools to change society for the better. From giving women the right to vote to ending child labour, protest has shaped a fairer society. Don’t let your voice be silenced. Sign here.

No airport expansions

Please sign this petition today and share it far and wide. It calls on the government to stop all airport expansions. When we get 10,000 signatures we’ll receive a response from the government. We’re over 6,000 now so please help us get to 10,000! Thank you.

Promote plant-based foods over meat and dairy

Meat and dairy production emit the super-heater greenhouse gas ‘methane’, which we need to urgently reduce to limit global temperature rises. In the UK, livestock production is responsible for more than 6% of total greenhouse gas emissions and uses a staggering 85% of agricultural land. Plus, of course, it can lead to devastating pollution from run-off into our rivers and seas. In contrast, plant-based alternatives to beef can reduce emissions by 67-89% and land use by 86-97%. Sign up here

Change the Media, Change the Future

Media Revolution is a new global call to action to tackle the lies and misinformation that have infected all forms of media in recent years. We will be keeping an eye on developments over the coming months as the campaign builds towards Media Liberation Day on 5th November. Check out their website: mediarevolution.org or join their Volunteer Zoom call on 13th August, 6pm-7pm to find out more.

Make Them Pay! Save the date…

On Saturday 20th September, thousands will take to the streets all around the world to demand the super-rich pay up to tackle the crises they’re fuelling. It’ll be a crucial moment ahead of the UK government’s Autumn Budget and the COP30 summit. Sign up here. With all the misinformation and vested interests in the media, please read and share this widely among your networks: Tax Justice UK’s “Debunk the 5 Biggest Myths about the Wealth Tax”

Hiroshima and Nagasaki remembrance

Groups across the country are preparing their events to mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. You can find an event near you on their interactive map here. This incredibly powerful and moving speech, given by Kyoko Gibson at the recent Parliamentary commemorative event, really says it all.

Stop Rosebank!

Any day now, the UK government will face a major climate test. Equinor, the Norwegian oil giant, is expected to reapply to develop the massive Rosebank oil field. The last government waved it through. But together, we overturned that decision in the courts.

Now it’s up to this government to make the right call. Will they listen to the science, the courts, and the public and reject the biggest undeveloped oil field in the UK? Or cave in to big oil again? That’s why, as MPs attended the final Prime Minister’s Questions in Parliament, Stop Rosebank sent our message to MPs with the biggest banner to be dropped off of Westminster Bridge ever.

  • If you haven’t yet, please ask your MP to sign the Stop Rosebank Pledge: Email your MP
  • Save the Date: Stop Rosebank National Day of Action – 6th September
  • Join the info call on 6th August at 7pm here or email action@stopcambo.org.uk.

Progress towards Fairer Elections

In July, the government announced historic democratic reforms as part of their upcoming Elections Bill. In a statement to Parliament, ministers announced plans to:

  • Extend the vote to 16 and 17 year-olds
  • Modernise voter registration
  • Scale back restrictive voter ID rules
  • Tackle dark money in politics and strengthen enforcement

More details here.

Activist Wellbeing Support

It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Joanna Macy died peacefully at home on 19th July at the age of 96. Probably best known for her book, “Active Hope: how to face the mess we’re in with unexpected resilience and creative power”, she has been the founding and grounding influence behind numerous public figures and organisations, over many decades, campaigning for systemic change, including XR.

If you don’t know much about her, we encourage you to search online to appreciate the scale of her influence and achievements. We send condolences to all who knew and loved her and our deepest gratitude for all her tireless work, insight and love for all life, and for the legacy she leaves to all of us. Thank you, Joanna 💚

The Work That Reconnects Network is holding a memorial event to celebrate Joanna’s life and legacy on Tuesday, 5th August, 3pm-5pm online – you can register here.

Our next Active Hope Book Group six-week course is starting in September – you can find more details here.

Good news stories

Huge news from the world’s highest court

The International Court of Justice has confirmed that, under international law, countries MUST act now to avoid climate catastrophe. Not only that, but the court confirmed the following critical points:

  • States must regulate businesses’ climate impacts
  • Historical emitters have a greater responsibility to address climate change and limit warming to 1.5C
  • If governments fail to abate the use of fossil fuels, approve fossil fuel projects or invest public money in fossil fuels, they could be in breach of international law
  • There is a potential route to reparations for states enduring the worst of the climate crisis

This landmark outcome is the result of a multi-year campaign led by communities on the front lines of extreme climate impacts. Read more here.

Spanish court confirms that authorities must protect citizens from industrial livestock harm

Over the past decade, the Spanish region of As Conchas has unwillingly become a sacrifice zone for a model of livestock agriculture that threatens our environment, health and sense of community.

The local reservoir has become home to a chemical so toxic it’s considered to be a substance of warfare by the UN, along with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Residents have reported unexplained medical problems, unmanageable odours and being too afraid to drink water from their own wells.

Frustrated by the inaction of the authorities, they pushed back against the industrial food production that has imposed such costs on the lives and health of their community. This ruling is proof that, when people come together, we have power.

This win opens the doors to a cascade of other similar people-powered cases. Communities in sacrifice zones across Europe, left to decay due to corporate greed and government inaction, now have a chance to fight back. Read the full article here.

Win for Seed Rights in India

Last week, Transform Trade shared some welcome news: the text of the UK-India trade deal has been released – and UPOV91 is not included. This is a huge win for farmers’ seed rights in India.

Had UPOV91 been in the agreement, this would have made it illegal for farmers to save or share some of their own seeds. India stood firm and continues to protect farmers’ rights to seeds. This was backed up by more than 25,000 Transform Trade supporters.

And on this occasion, the right decision was made and we should celebrate. But the work isn’t over. UPOV91 – a harmful international rule that hands control of seeds to corporations – is still part of 19 UK trade deals affecting 68 countries, including many in the Global South.

Now we need to keep the pressure on and make sure the UK never includes UPOV91 in a trade deal again. Transform Trade will be meeting with UK Government officials soon, asking them to publicly commit to keeping UPOV91 out of all future trade agreements. We’ll keep you posted.

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