Climate Change, Fracking, Bees and Banquets!

by Cynthia King

The People’s March for Climate, Justice & Jobs is coming to the UK on 28/29 November – just before the COP21 climate talks in Paris. An amazing coalition of charities and NGO’s are putting this all together. http://climatejusticejobs.org.uk/ . CR has been working on it for months. Sounds easy, but committees to organise logistics, transport, communications, the website, flyers, speakers, events in Paris for 12 December (and beyond) have been meeting monthly, then bi-weekly, now weekly to ensure it all goes well and has a positive impact on the conference and, especially, everyone involved in the march.

Even if this is their first demonstration, we want people to come away as activists, ready to make their voices heard about all the issues we confront in our lives today. Come out and join us on 29 November! 

Friends of the Earth is a huge supporter of the march. They’ve been working for over 40 years to protect the planet and support local communities. As Vivienne always says, the most important thing is to be pro-people – and FoE most certainly is.

They led the drive to get the UK Climate Change Act passed into law – the first of its kind in the world – which requires the government to cut carbon emission steeply. We simply can’t let the government renege on its obligation now – it’s time to act and keep up the fight against climate change – See you on the streets!

FoE persuaded Parliament to establish the feed in tariff – giving individuals, communities and small businesses a guaranteed payment for the energy they produce. The government is now trying to cut it back – by an average of 80%! Because of public protest, there is now an ongoing review of this and FoE is once again leading the charge.

FoE’s commitment to communities is nowhere more evident than in their pivotal role to stop fracking in the UK. They continue provide planning and legal advice and push for clean energy – not more fossil fuel! We’ve joined in their inspiring – and successful – actions in Balcombe and Preston.

Don’t forget the bees! Vivienne and CR were there when FoE started The Bee Cause Campaign in 2012 convincing the British and Welsh governments to initiate bee rescue plans – but the bees are still not safe. As long as governments keep pushing harmful land use and farming policies that threaten bees and pollinators, Friends of the Earth will continue the fight.

Climate Revolution wants to help FoE move forward. With so much still to do, they need our support.  We’ve been working with them to organise this year’s Extraordinary Banquet, Inspired by Nature, on 19 November to raise funds for their work. All proceeds will be donated to Friends of the Earth to help create a world where people, climate, fresh water, food supplies and the natural world can thrive – a world where everyone gets a fair share of nature’s benefits.