Thank you to everyone who came out in support of the Climate Justice Coalition’s COP30 event in Leeds on 15th November. There was a good turn-out, despite the dark and damp day, and it all went off peacefully and in good cheer. Our spirits were lifted by the amazing RoadBlock and our own fabulous Red Rebels and Discobedience, followed by some truly powerful speeches from representatives of all the diverse groups involved.

We even got a positive report on that evening’s ITV Calendar News. Well done and thank you to all the organisers for their time and dedication. We were part of a global wave of actions that all fed in photos and messages to those on the ground in Belem, Brazil. Did the message get through? See our assessment below for more…

In this month’s newsletter…

What’s On in December

Thursday, 11th December from 6pm: XR Leeds XRmas Social – The Angel Inn, Angel Inn Yard, Leeds LS1 6LN. We look forward to seeing you then.🎄🧑‍🎄💚

Wednesday, 10th December, 7pm-8.30pm (online): Active Hope Support Circle – for anyone familiar with The Work That Reconnects, this will be a chance to check in with each other and support ourselves with whatever is coming up. Contact Anne-Lise if you’d like to join us.

Saturday, 13th December, 10am-3pm: Advent Eco-Fair, Hinsley Hall, Headingley, LS6 2BX

Saturday, 13th December, (timing to be confirmed): XR Ilkley’s Em & Mark complete their epic 81-mile River Wharf Odyssey. Their aim is to raise people’s awareness of water pollution and encourage them to step up to protect our waterways. Join other XR North folks to welcome them at their final destination in Cawood, near Selby… look out for more details on our socials soon.

COP30 Brazil – did it deliver?

Err… No, not exactly… but maybe….? By now we’ve all become used to that feeling of disappointment in the COP process, especially when there is such blatant lobbying by fossil-fuel-vested-interests and misinformation infesting many media platforms and governments these days.

But despite the usual gloomy headlines, there was a lot to be hopeful for in this year’s COP, not least the powerful voices of indigenous communities being heard and respected and the beginnings of some kind of financial structure to protect the world’s ancient forests.

Furthermore, for the first time, a solid foundation was established of a potential process for phasing out fossil fuels, with a coalition of nations representing 80% of the global population agreeing to meet in conference next year to start the process of actually implementing such a just transition.

Progress is being made, albeit step-by-step and word-by-agonising-word in the documentation. In the end though, it is still up to all of us to come together locally and nationally to continue to push for a more urgent narrative and decisive implementation on the ground. Which brings us nicely to our next item…

National Emergency Briefing

If you managed to watch any of the National Emergency Briefing last week, well done! It wasn’t easy, with GB News (!) being the only news channel that streamed the whole event.

There is a follow-up to the Briefing – an open letter that individuals and organisations can sign – to Keir Starmer and UK media.  It is asking the Government and all public service broadcasters to hold an urgent televised national emergency briefing for the public, and to run a comprehensive public engagement campaign. Please sign & share the open letter here.

If you missed it, catch up with this excellent summary of the Briefing from Just Have a Think and here are the Briefing’s main bullet points. This is only the beginning, with plans for a film early next year and further ways to engage the public and decision-makers. We will keep you informed.

More threats to our right to protest

Demonstrations could now be banned based on ‘cumulative disruption’ that previous protests have caused in the area – whether or not they have been organised by the same people. These new plans say that senior police officers “must” take into account any cumulative disruption caused by past protests.

The Government’s plans go even further than feared and, combined with other anti-protest measures in the pipeline in the Crime and Policing Bill, will see our right to protest stripped to the bone. Liberty defeated very similar restrictions in the courts earlier this year but the fact the Government has reintroduced them, with even further reach, is a serious blow to people’s fundamental rights.  

Police already have extensive powers to restrict protests, yet these measures add to an ever-expanding web of anti-protest laws. It is becoming harder and harder for people to exercise their democratic right to protest. Our ability to use protest to challenge governments and stand up for what we believe in is central to having a healthy, functioning democracy. It must be upheld.

Say No to Drax’s AI Centre Bid!

The UK’s single largest carbon emitter, Drax, has submitted a joint bid with the University of York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to use its tree burning to power an AI data centre in Yorkshire as part of an ‘AI growth zone.’

With the Government recently extending subsidies for Drax’s tree burning to 2027-2031, and new government support for an AI Growth Zone in Wales, we urgently need to ensure that Drax doesn’t get even more public money.

In February this year, the Energy Minister Michael Shanks promised that under the new subsidy regime, Drax would be burning half as many trees. But if their bid is accepted, Drax will burn just as many if not more trees than before, with catastrophic impacts on forests, wildlife, communities and the climate.

Please contact your MP and ask them to write to the Secretaries of State for Science Innovation and Technology and for Energy Security to urge them to reject Drax’s bid.

High Court allows fossil fuel exploration in protected seas but…

The High Court has ruled that all 28 of the oil and gas exploration licences (challenged by Oceana) were granted lawfully and will stand. This is despite most licences sitting inside marine PROTECTED areas – wildlife havens, home to porpoises, puffins and seals. But… the judge has made it clear, this is only one step in a multi-stage process. Exploration may now be possible but many more approval stages are needed before full production. Critically, the judge has stressed that the government MUST properly account for ocean harm at every approval stage.

Petitions

Stop Water Pollution in Gledhow Valley: the Friends of Gledhow Valley Woods have been campaigning tirelessly for years to enhance water quality in the Gledhow Valley – a precious urban green space here in Leeds. They are urging Yorkshire Water, The Environment Agency and Leeds City Council to address and rectify the misconnections that are one of the major sources of pollution in the Gledhow Valley. Please sign here.

Support The People’s Climate Case: the Good Law Project, Global Legal Action Network and Tipping Point UK are among the co-claimants in this legal challenge to the UK government based on human rights law. Their case will argue that, to avoid breaching our human rights, the UK government must do more to tackle the climate crisis including by doing our ‘fair share’ globally. Please sign here.

Join the call for tighter controls on Political Donations: you can join 8,000 people making a simple, powerful call to limit the size of political donations. Why? Because right now, eye-watering sums are being poured into our political system by a tiny number of ultra-wealthy donors.

No one should be able to buy greater influence in our democracy. Not individuals. Not corporations. Not anyone. As the government works on new legislation governing our elections, this is a crucial moment to insist on stronger rules. We must protect our democracy from being dominated by those with the deepest pockets. Please join the call here.

Disrupt the Tax Dodge!

Two of the biggest climate villains of our time have teamed up to pull off what could be a £1.3 billion tax dodge. Shell and Equinor are forming a new joint venture, Adura, which will be the new owner of the Rosebank oil field.

Adura wants to exploit a loophole that allows Shell to write off its profits against Equinor’s tax losses. If they succeed, investigators from Global Witness have found they will effectively dodge at least £1.3 billion in UK taxes. If developed, Rosebank would also pose a net tax loss of £250 million to the UK Treasury.

You can write to Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, here. And here’s another new campaign petition from #StopRosebank: No Oil Profits for Occupation & Genocide

Stop Leeds Bradford Airport expansion

LBA is expected to make a new planning application soon. The airport wants to vastly increase night flights by removing the cap on the number of flights allowed at night and extending the unrestricted daytime flying hours by 90 minutes.

Altogether, that would mean thousands more flights a year and a huge rise in greenhouse gas emissions. So the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) is gearing up for another round in its long fight to stop the airport from expanding. Find out more more about LBA’s plans here and join GALBA here. GALBA says ‘Keep the Cap!’ on night flights.

Good News

UK Government declares no new oil & gas: the government has declared that no more oil and gas exploration licences will be issued. This makes Britain the world’s largest economy to end new fossil fuel exploration. And it sends a powerful message: greener, cleaner renewable energy is the future. This is the kind of climate leadership we’ve all been demanding.

Windfall Tax remains – in full: after 46,000 of us called on the Chancellor to keep the Windfall Tax in full, it remains in place! This means polluters like Shell will have to continue paying towards the green transition. When enough of us speak up, we overpower lobbyists and the government has to listen.

As we celebrate, there’s still more to do because previously licensed fields like Rosebank are still on the table. To make this transition to green energy work, we need to ensure the government backs North Sea workers and prove that a fair transition can create thousands of good jobs, strengthen communities, and deliver both climate leadership and economic security.