Spring has finally sprung but as nature gets on with being beautiful, those few mad bullies with the big boys’ toys seem intent on causing more death, destruction and misery for us all. These are tough, troubling and often overwhelming times. We’ll all have our moments of despair and rage in the times ahead, but let’s redirect that energy into what we can do to support each other in our immediate circles.

Over the next few months, XR Leeds will be focusing on the National Emergency Briefing campaign (see more below) so we won’t have much time for any specific XR meetings or socials. We’re at the brink of things now, folks, so time to get involved if you’re able… and if you’re not, just send some supportive good vibes our way now and then – it all helps 💚

In this month’s newsletter…

Coming up this month

9th-15th March – The Big Plastic Count: sign up here.

Sunday 15th March, 7-8.15pm – Outreach training: in recent years, we have realised that events such as the Together Alliance march can be a great place to tell other activists about XR and get sign-ups. For some people, getting sign ups from fellow activists can be more daunting than speaking with the general public. In this workshop, we will share with you approaches that you can use to do what we call ‘in-reach’. Come along to this interactive online workshop to find out more. Register here.

Sunday 22nd March – World Water Day: XR’s World Water Wedding Day – if you fancy doing something for your local waterway, please let us know.

Sunday 22nd March, 2pm – XR Ilkley World Water Wedding Ceremony – Ilkley Old Bridge, Ilkley Riverside, LS29 9EU. Following their walk along the length of the River Wharfe, XR Ilkley would like to invite you to join them in celebrating the River and making a commitment to guarding its welfare. There will be a short procession led by the Blue Rebels, followed by a reading and offering of flowers. You can get in touch via xrilkley@protonmail.com if you would like to discuss this in more detail, or have something that you’d like to share as part of the ceremony. Plus… End the Sewage Pollution Scandal – see our petitions section below.

Monday 23rd March, 6.30pm-8pm – Leeds NEB Planning Meeting at Imagine Leeds, 9 Blenheim Terrace, Leeds LS2 9HZ (see more below)

Tuesday 24th March, 5.30pm-8pm – Green Drinks Leeds 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 Millie Duncan, Programme Manager for Leeds Climate Commission. Millie will be talking about the power of cross-sector collaboration and shared responsibility in helping a city to reach its climate ambitions. More details and register here.

Tuesday 24th March – Stop Rosebank Mass Lobby in Westminster – see more below.

SATURDAY 28 MARCH – MARCH TOGETHER

FOR LOVE. FOR HOPE. FOR UNITY.

Together Alliance March, central London: an alliance of over 120 civil society organisations united against the far right. Sign up here. Transport information here.

Looking ahead…

Saturday 18th April – XR North’s Spring Gathering at the Swarthmore Centre, Leeds. Plans are afoot to gather for a day with all our lovely colleagues from other local XR groups around the North. Further details and registration links to follow soon.

13th-20th May 2026 – A Million Acts of Hope, Week of Action: as a counterpoint to all the gloom, hundreds of thousands of people will be coming together in a week of action this May. This is a celebration of all those acts of goodness, kindness, community and hope that happen every day. Dozens of organisations have already united behind this. It’s time to shine the light on a different narrative – more info here.

National Emergency Briefing 🔜 People’s Emergency Briefing Film: join the Leeds NEB Planning Group…

As reported last month, XR Leeds is working in collaboration with Climate Action Leeds to lead the call and compile resources to provide support and guidance, so that every constituency and community in and around the city can be involved.

The film will be available for release in various formats on 7th April, though our planning committee have agreed not to start the roll-out in Leeds until after the local elections at the beginning of May and continue with screenings across the city through May to September.

We still urgently need volunteers to step forward now to help with the organising, social media, leafleting, supporting events, outreach, etc. If you’d like to help or are thinking of organising a screening in your community, please join our Leeds NEB Planning Whatsapp chat group.

Please note we are advised that the film is not suitable for anyone under the age of 16. However, there are notes and guidance available for any teachers who would like to bring the campaign into their schools or colleges. There is a separate register for school teachers due to be launched at the Climate & Nature Education Festival on 14th March. Here’s the link to register

As reported last month, the government finally published the delayed Joint Intelligence Committee’s Report on Global Biodiversity Loss, Ecosystem Collapse and National Security, though much of it is still hidden/redacted. We were happy to see that ITV has picked this one up… you can watch their report here.

#Stop Rosebank – the final push….

Last year we celebrated the UK Government’s progress in becoming the largest western country to end new exploration for oil and gas – a step towards energy sovereignty, but it’s not all roses. The announcement left loopholes meaning the government can permit an expansion of existing licences. In the next 8 weeks, Ed Miliband will decide whether or not to approve the largest undeveloped oil field in the North Sea: Rosebank.

The Rosebank oil field won’t lower UK energy bills or deliver secure jobs in the North Sea. It will only delay an overdue transition to clean, affordable energy and funnel profits to fossil fuel corporations. We deserve an energy system that puts people and planet first.

MPs need to know that people across the country are watching, and that approving Rosebank would be a betrayal of action on climate and justice. You can:

Stop Airport Expansion

Leeds Bradford Airport has submitted yet another planning application to the Council that aims to massively increase night time flying. If they get away with it, there would be thousands more night flights every year – bad news for the climate, air quality and local people. The Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) has successfully stopped LBA from expanding for five years and they need your help to keep that winning streak going.

GALBA needs to raise funds to pay for good lawyers to represent them against the airport. We know times are hard but if you can afford to make a donation, please go to GALBA’s website and follow the guidance. The Climate Change Committee has repeatedly warned against allowing airports to expand. In their 7th Carbon Budget, the committee warns that the aviation industry will be the UK’s largest source of greenhouse gases by 2050, even if there is progress with alternative, cleaner fuels.

Fossil Fuel Treaty – a double success!

At COP30, the Colombian and Dutch governments announced the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels. This will be an historic moment that could take us one step closer to ending the fossil fuel era – and now there’s been another success.

Last week, Colombia and the Netherlands announced further details of the conference, which will take place in Colombia in April. They confirmed that addressing Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) and the threat it poses to the fossil fuel phase-out would be a key point of discussion at the conference. That means governments who have come to work towards a fossil fuel phase-out will hear about how the big polluters are using corporate courts to deter or penalise it via costly claims.

This conference is a major win for everyone who has been calling for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. Supporters have created pressure for a separate space to negotiate a just transition from fossil fuels and helped to make this idea impossible to ignore.

The announcement of April’s conference marks a massive moment in this fight. It shows that governments are willing to stop accepting COP’s empty promises and missed opportunities as the end of the conversation. It could cement a coalition of willing countries ready to take the fossil fuel phase-out forward, outside COP and within it, as well as tackle ISDS head on.

Please write to Ed Milliband and ask him to attend here.

Petitions

End the Sewage Pollution Scandal!

A public tidal wave of condemnation of water companies has followed Channel 4’s current docudrama Dirty Water in the past few weeks. It tells the story of eight-year-old Heather Preen, who died after contracting E.coli from swimming in the sea in Devon. That was more than 25 years ago but the risk remains every time we enter the water. Why? Because water companies have extracted billions in profit, while failing to invest in the infrastructure needed to keep us safe.

The government says change is coming. But the laws being drafted right now could lock this failed model in for decades. If we don’t speak out now, nothing changes. That’s why our friends at Surfers Against Sewage have launched an urgent petition on the 38 Degrees site, demanding public health and the environment come before private profit. Sign the petition now demanding that the government acts to prevent more families paying the price of this sewage crisis.

Speak Up for Nature

The UK Government is currently considering weakening vital environmental safeguards for new nuclear projects under the Fingleton Review. Even more worryingly, the PM has suggested these proposals could be expanded wider, putting National Parks, estuaries, peatlands and rare species at needless risk.

This is all being justified by the false assertion that nature holds our economy back, when in reality a healthy natural world is what supports a strong and resilient economy. Proposals are being finalised this month. MPs have a crucial window to push back now, but they need to hear from you. Please email your MP today and urge them to defend vital nature protections.

Stop the Criminal Killing of Birds of Prey

Friends of the Dales (a registered charity based in the Yorkshire Dales) is asking the government for important law reform to stop the criminal killing of birds of prey. Many of you will be aware that the Yorkshire Dales is a national hotspot for illegal raptor persecution, particularly on the privately-owned grouse moors within the National Park.

Friends of the Dales is calling for the introduction of sentencing guidelines and the strengthening of penalties for offenders, the establishment of a National Wildlife Crime Database and more effective regulation for those industries committing these wildlife crimes. Sign their petition by clicking here.

Good News

Medics – not guilty!

Six medics who broke the windows at JP Morgan Bank HQ have been found unanimously not guilty! Thank you to everyone who helped provide a massive boost to their crowdfunder to cover direct legal costs. The medics from Health for XR offered compelling testimonies detailing their ethical responsibility to sound the alarm on corporations who knowingly harm health.

Defendant Dr Juliette Brown said: “Medicine says we are duty bound to intervene when we see a looming threat, to take the most effective action to save a life, even if it involves breaking the rules.” If you are a medical professional, please consider joining Health for XR.

Win for right to protest

Last year, Liberty and Amnesty International UK intervened in the judicial review of Palestine Action’s proscription. On 13th February, the High Court ruled that the ban of Palestine Action under terrorism legislation was unlawful. The judgment shows the court agreed with the key arguments that “the interference with article 10 [right to freedom of expression] and 11 [right to freedom of assembly and association] is very significant.”

While this is good news, the government has said that it will appeal the decision. Palestine Action remains a proscribed group while the Court decides whether to keep the ban in place pending the appeal. This case has exposed a deeper problem where the line between direct action and terrorism has become dangerously blurred, which will continue to have a chilling effect on protest and free speech. People must be able to stand up, speak out and take part in protest without fear of being labelled a terrorist and arrested.

When it’s not clear what counts as terrorism, public trust collapses and without trust, counter-terror laws simply don’t work. We need a clearer definition and tighter laws to prevent the misuse of counter-terror powers, now and in the future. You can read more here.

Victory for the rivers of the Amazon!

Because of Indigenous leadership and more than a month of courageous resistance in the Amazon, Brazil’s government has revoked Decree 12,600, a policy that threatened to turn vital rivers into private industrial waterways!

For over a month, families, elders, women and children held the line in a determined blockade under intense heat and rain. Protesters peacefully blocked the airport road, intercepted a grain barge on the Tapajós River and occupied U.S. multinational Cargill’s terminal, drawing international attention to the Decree’s dangerous plan to turn Amazonian rivers into export corridors.

Their action, amplified by growing national and international solidarity, forced the government to listen. Read the full story here.