Our diary may seem quiet this month but be assured there’s a lot happening under the surface…

We have had our hands full organising National/People’s Emergency Briefing events and there’s an imminent exciting announcement, so keep a look out for more soon. And while it may seem with all the (often biased and dastardly) election hype dominating the media that the climate and nature crisis has once again had to take a back seat, we’re sharing rather a lot of good news this month from local campaign wins to international conference success. Enjoy!

In this month’s newsletter

  • Coming up this month
  • Love and Rage – 12th-14th September, London
  • National Emergency Briefing – People’s Emergency Briefing Film
  • Major People’s Emergency Briefing Film Screening Event at Leeds Civic Hall – Friday 19th June
  • Stop Airport Expansion – no more night flights!
  • First International Conference on Transition Away from Fossil Fuels
  • Petitions
    • Bring the Water Industry into Public Ownership
    • Stop Water Pollution from misconnections in Gledhow Valley, Leeds
    • Pledge to Protect the Heart of the Arctic
  • Good News
    • Rotary Woods Saved – Again!
    • Burniston “Fracking” Refused!
    • UK’s first heathland green bridge opens this month!

Coming up this month

Tuesday 26th May, 5.30pm-8pm – Green Drinks Leeds: meet up with XR Leeds members and other environmentally-minded folks from across the city, at Imagine Leeds, 9 Blenheim Terrace, Leeds LS2 9HZ. This month’s speaker is Liam Wolstenholme from Green Economy who will give a short talk, followed by Q&A, and there’ll be the usual fiendish quiz. More details here.

Friday 29th May to Sunday 31st May – Protestival: if you fancy a break down near Bath, XR South West is inviting everyone to join them. Find out more here

Looking ahead… save the dates

6th-14th June – Great Big Green Week: thousands of events are hosted across the UK, that demonstrate the brilliant action communities are taking to tackle climate change and restore nature – everything from practical actions such as planting pollinator friendly plants to letter writing workshops, festivals to football matches, seaweed foraging to school assemblies. Find out more here.

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 and contact us at: xrleeds@protonmail.com

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 )

LOVE AND RAGE – 12th-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.

➡️ More info available soon on Rebel Toolkit

➡️ Join the Love and Rage Telegram chat

National Emergency Briefing 🔜 People’s Emergency Briefing Film

We held a couple of “preview” screenings at Imagine Leeds last month, which went well and have inspired a few more groups to plan their own screenings. We are hoping to have more “previews” in the coming months, so keep a look out for more details of those coming soon and check out some of these NEB Testimonials

We have many more communities planning to screen the film in their neighbourhoods across Leeds in the months ahead. Nationally, over 2,200 screenings are being planned across the country, with the numbers continuing to grow. Find out if there is already a screening planned near you on the NEB’s National Screening Map. Watch the new trailer here.

With the roll-out of screenings across communities to take place from now till September, there’s still plenty of time if you’d like to plan your own event in your community. XR also has some very useful tips and guidance on the Rebel Toolkit and we highly recommend the Climate Psychology Alliance’s Facilitation Training for NEB Organisers.

Major People’s Emergency Briefing Screening Event at Leeds Civic Hall – Friday 19th June

We’re also in the planning stages for a high-profile screening at Leeds Civic Hall Banqueting Suite on the afternoon of Friday 19th June. We’re inviting MPs, Councillors and dignitaries from all sectors. They will view the film and take part in discussions afterwards, not only to highlight what is already happening in Leeds but also to engage with what more needs to be achieved.

If you can help with planning, sending invites or being there on the day itself in any capacity, large or small, please get in touch (xrleeds@protonmail.com ) or join our Leeds NEB Planning Whatsapp chat group. If you haven’t done so yet, please sign and share the open letter to Keir Starmer and the national broadcasters calling for a televised emergency briefing.

Stop Airport Expansion – no more night flights!

At the time of writing, we don’t know which party (if any) will be in control of Leeds City Council. Whatever happens, the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) will continue to press the Council to put a stop to unlimited, unlawful night flights at the airport. If you’re not a member of GALBA, it’s free to join and you’ll get regular email campaign updates. Join here.  

First International Conference on Transition Away from Fossil Fuels

At the end of last month, countries representing one-third of the global economy met in Santa Marta, Colombia to discuss practical strategies to move away from oil, coal and gas. The key outcomes of the conference stated three workstreams to develop ahead of another meeting next year (to be hosted by Tuvalu and Ireland), namely:

  • The development of national roadmaps away from fossil fuels
  • Addressing “macroeconomic dependencies and financial architecture”
  • Addressing “trade and investment balance for decarbonisation.”

The summit also included a “science pre-conference” of over 400 academics from around the world which was tasked by the Colombian government to consider 11 different “workstreams” that would aid a just transition. These included the drafting of a roadmap away from fossil fuels, which was submitted by a team led by Prof Piers Forster, head of The Priestley Centre for Climate Futures at the University of Leeds.

Read Carbon Brief’s full assessment of the conference and its outcomes here and watch this excellent round-up from Simon Clark.

Getty Images: Red Rebels in London protest against new oil & gas fields in the UK

Petitions

Bring the Water Industry into Public Ownership

Following on from the huge success of Channel 4’s ‘Dirty Business’, Windrush WASP campaigners Ash Smith and Peter Hammond have launched a government petition for a referendum on the ownership of our water sector. The Government has already said they have no intention of bringing the water industry into public ownership. If we can get this petition to 100,000 they will be forced to debate it in parliament, bringing all of the undeniable arguments for public ownership of water in front of even more MPs. Sign and share the petition here

Stop Water Pollution from misconnections in Gledhow Valley

Please sign this petition to urge 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. Together, we can help secure a cleaner, healthier environment for our community and the incredible wildlife that lives there.

Pledge to Protect the Heart of the Arctic

In “Noise: A Silent Emergency,” journalist Graeme Green sounds the alarm on an unseen crisis: the doubling of noise pollution in the ocean over the last decade alone. Today, the world’s waters are bombarded with surround-sound cacophony: sonar, vessel traffic, drilling and dredging among the many sources of this sonic disturbance.

And up in the Central Arctic, one of the world’s quietest oceans, vanishing sea ice is giving way to transpolar shipping routes, which bring a different kind of “Arctic amplification” to the region. Marine life from whales to mussels rely on sound (and peace and quiet!) to survive and, like us, they exhibit signs of stress when it’s simply just too loud. Sign the pledge here.

Good News

Rotary Woods Saved – Again!

Well done to our friends in XR Harrogate and everyone who was involved in the long and arduous campaign to stop Harrogate Spring Water (now owned by Danone) expanding its facility which would have resulted in the destruction of Rotary Woods.

The woods were planted by schoolchildren over twenty years ago and are a valuable and much loved site which has attracted the support of many famous faces including Dame Judi Dench and Joanna Lumley.

Harrogate Red Rebels were in attendance to hear councillors reject the planning application, taking note of the views of local people and showing that together we are not helpless in the face of corporate global capitalism. Whoop whoop! If you’d like to know more about the campaign and see reaction to the planning news you can do so here.

Burniston “Fracking” Refused!

Members of North Yorkshire’s strategic planning committee voted almost unanimously against developing a gas well, using low fracking, on the coastline near Scarborough. Read more here.

UK’s first heathland green bridge opens this month!  

Good news for all the snakes, toads, badgers and other creatures (including the human species) who need to cross the busy A3. Read more here

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