QUNO Briefing Paper published re Carbon Dioxide Removal
Successful Court Action by Greenpeace
Wildlife Trusts UK Summary of COP16 Podcast
Latest EQAT USA Vanguard campaigning
Action by EQAT re Vanguard investment companies
Midlands Green Quakers Network
UK takes step towards a Strong Global Plastics Treaty
Goodbye to Coal-Fired Energy in the UK
Badly Insulated UK Homes - CO2 Impact
QUNO's Presence at IPCC 61st Session - August 2024
Northern Friends Peace Board - peace & sustainability linked resources
A Testimony Against Capitalism?
Climate Choirs Sing for the Planet
Update on Call for International Ecocide Law
Sustainability Monitoring Group report to Meeting for Sufferings held October 2023
Successful Court Action by Greenpeace (Posted 20 November 2024)
Last week Greenpeace were in court taking on oil giants Shell and Equinor to stop their illegal oil and gas fields in UK waters. Their huge people-powered 80,000 signature strong petition helped show the public are opposed to Shell and Equinor’s illegal drilling - each and every signature strengthened their case.
Shell and Equinor accepted that their new fields are unlawful, but argued they should be allowed to continue developing them because otherwise they'd face financial losses. They were asking the public to put up with climate damages so they could continue making profits on illegal developments.
Greenpeace argued against their justification and pointed out they aren’t above the rule of law.
The judge's decision is awaited, it could take some months.
This is not a one-off - Greenpeace are determined to continue taking on the Big Oil giants driving the climate crisis.
News from Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT), USA re Vanguard campaigning (Posted 20 November 2024)
Visited Vanguard’s headquarters in Malvern, PA today, 20 Nov, to tap into our power to do what's right and invite Vanguard CEO Salim Ramji to do the same. With space for grief, grounding, and joy, we will embrace our power as an active part of making history.
Invited Quaker Friends to join EQAT's national campaign partner, Stop the Money Pipeline, virtually – Wednesday, November 20th at 7:00 pm ET / 4:00 pm PT – for a conversation about the election results and how our movement will continue to pressure fossil fuel financiers to make the changes we need.
Wildlife Trust UK - COP16 Summary and looking forward to COP29 (posted 20 November 2024)
Click here UK Wildlife Trust Summary of COP16 Nature COP for an interesting podcast discussion between two Wildlife Trust UK staff summarising what came out of the nature COP, COP16 in Columbia, and a brief look forward to the climate COP, COP29 in Azerbijan. They will present a further summary from COP29 shortly after the conference ends.
QUNO publishes paper on Carbon Dioxide Removal (Posted 20 November 2024)
Quaker United Nations Office latest newsletter includes an article and link to their publication of a carbon dioxide removal briefing paper as COP29 takes place in Azerbijan.
Midlands Green Quakers network (posted 24 October 2024 - taken from Quakers in Britain, communities, news webpage)
Concern about the environment has moved Quakers in the Midlands to create a network to explore sustainability and climate justice together.
The group meets monthly on Zoom, providing Friends with opportunities to share stories and ideas, offer support, and build a shared sense of purpose and community. Each month Sarah Shaw, Local Development Worker, arranges for guest speakers to talk about their climate justice activities. Recent presentations have included Berkhamstead EcoHub, Footsteps: Faiths for a Low-Carbon Future, and Quaker Concern Over Population.
For this autumn's sessions, Sarah is facilitating a series of workshops on the theme of ecological spirituality. She is also co-organising a one-day retreat in Leicester in mid-October :'Hope in the Dark: Spiritual Nurture for the Earth Crisis' This will provide Friends from the region with an opportunity to spend time together in spiritual exploration and fellowship.
USA Earth Quaker Action Team recent campaigning re Vanguard and its investment companies (Posted 2 November 2024)
Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin, and virtually: they took action in more places than ever before in this campaign for the Vanguard’s Choices and Consequences national day of action. With art installations and letter deliveries, meetings for worship and visits to Vanguard investment companies causing harm, they were united across geography to call on Vanguard to change course and invest in a liveable future.
See the full report and Youtube clip here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTMlviva3Hg
UK takes a huge step towards a strong Global Plastics Treaty (Posted 18 October 2024)
News update from The Big Plastic Count : In a MASSIVE win for all of us who care about ending plastic pollution, last month the UK signed the Bridge to Busan declaration. This is a statement signed by 40 countries at the United Nations affirming the need for global cuts to plastic production.
It’s the first big decision from the new Labour government on the Global Plastics Treaty, and it hopefully shows that they’re ready to take the plastic waste problem seriously after the dismal record of the last government.
USA President Biden, has said USA will sign up to the Treaty. USA has previously not been a signatory to the treaty. USA is the biggest producer of plastics.
The next round of treaty negotiations is in November.
Decarbonising Local Festivals (Posted 12 October 2024)
Arts & Culture East Devon and Exmouth Festival are setting out a new blueprint to decarbonise local festivals.
Exmouth Festival organisers - Exmouth Town Council, wanted to understand the scale of their previous festival emissions and how to reduce it. By working with South West Energy and Environment Group, they created a bespoke calculator tool. It is unique to festivals, enabling them to calculate their carbon footprint, identify categories where reductions can be made and monitor changes going forward. These steps resulted in a 10% carbon reduction of this year’s festival, which is set to continue reducing year on year.
Goodbye to coal-fired energy in the UK (Posted 26 September 2024) Monday, 30 September, will mark the end of an era, when the last coal-fired power station closes, Friends of the Earth report. This is another step towards preventing climate/environmental catastrophe. Friends of the Earth also recently won a legal case against the planned Cumbrian coal mine, with the Judge deeming it contrary to the intentions of the UK Climate Act.
Badly Insulated UK Homes - the CO2 impact (Posted 26 September 2024) Friends of the Earth research claims UK’s badly insulated homes release the same carbon emissions as Denmark. They say that after a decade of failing to upgrade millions of poorly insulated homes, the UK housing stock pours 30 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. That is the same amount as the whole of Denmark emits annually (population roughly 6 million).
If the 14 million homes most in need of insulation were upgraded, these climate-wrecking emissions could be prevented, and people would be protected from sky-high bills and ill-health.
The Daily Mirror published an article in their paper recently, using the research findings of Friends of the Earth.
Postcode Gardeners - Friends of the Earth Project (Posted 26 September 2024) Friends of the Earth have been supported by The Co-operative Bank to kick-start community gardening in the West Gorton and Wythenshawe areas of Manchester. These two new Postcode Gardeners are part of their programme to restore greenery and wildlife in over 1,000 nature-deprived spaces across England and Wales. The hope is that communities will be helped to reconnect with each other and nature, and bring wildlife back to urban streets.
Watch their video showcasing the Manchester Postcode Gardener launch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjwRVUc51D4
QUNO Geneva's Presence at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 61st Session (Posted 20 September 2024 from 'News from QUNO' e-newsletter)
QUNO Geneva’s Human Impacts of Climate Change Programme, speaking on behalf of Friends World Committee for Consultation, took part in the 61st Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Sofia, Bulgaria from the 27th of July to 2nd of August. Our FWCC interventions and the IPCC Meeting summary are available (to read via the hyper-link below).
At this session, the panel had to decide on the programme of work for the 7th Assessment Cycle (AR7) and approve outlines of two IPCC products: the Methodology Report on Short Lived Climate Forcers and the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities.
Northern Friends Peace Board (UK) links to resources which relate to peace and sustainability combined issues: (Posted 31 July 2024)
What would a sensible security policy look like for the UK? https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/sensible-defence-offering-uk-labour-conservatives-climate-crisis-security
Women, peace and security and the climate change agenda https://www.worldvision.ca/stories/climate-change/women-peace-and-security-climate-change-agenda
Counting the environmental toll of war - and why peace is a climate solution https://johnmenadue.com/counting-the-environmental-toll-of-war-and-why-peace-is-a-climate-solution
Environmental wartime protection is essential to the protection of civilians https://www.icrc.org/en/unsc-arria-environment-peace
The Northern Friends Peace Board produce a regular round-up every 4-6 weeks. PDF versions with clickable links are available for their website at: https://nfpb.org.uk/resources/publicity-information-outreach
Mailing List: contact nfpb@gn.apc.org if you would to receive the information via email.
Scoring the UK Parties' Manifestos re Climate and Environment (posted 24 June 2024) Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, who are politically impartial, have scored the 4 main parties (Labour, Lib Dem, Greens, Conservatives) manifestos.
The Green's plans for climate and nature came top, followed by the Lib Dems, Labour and the Conservatives.
If Labour win the election and form the next government, they say they will be bold and commit to meeting the internationally agreed target to reduce carbon emissions by two-thirds by 2030. If this should be the case, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace will be asking their supporters to help them hold the incoming government to their promise.
Big Earth Book - James Bruges (posted 13 May 2024) Friend David from Bristol, went to a Memorial event to remember the life of James Bruges and was reminded of the inspiration he received from reading James' book 'Big Earth Book' which helped him understand the environmental and climate crises situation in which we now find ourselves. The book is still available for sale through some stockists.
Local Meetings' Actions (posted 29 April 2024)
Exmouth LM, Devon invited a representative of Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva on climate action to give them a talk, they held a vigil against gas and oil, they have a monthly vigil for a Healthy Planet, and a study group on the climate crisis meets regularly.
Bury LM, Norfolk have made use of a legacy to restore a local river walk, and to support an outdoor educational centre for small children.
Green and Growing (posted 22 April 2024) The UK's net zero economy expanded by 9% adding £74bn to the UK coffers in 2023, according to a report by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit and the Confederation of British Industry. (quoted in issue 117 or Positive News).
Creating a Nature Corridor (Posted 5 April 2024) - Simon and Gill of Ashburton Meeting, South Devon, are working with Devon Wildlife Trust to join their six acres of land into a nature corridor for animals and insects, and becoming part of the Nature Recovery Network. The corridor network stretches from Scotland to Cornwall. They have planted over 150 trees and introduced wild flowers over the last eleven years. (News section of 'The Friend' 5 April issue, page 5).
A Testimony against Capitalism? (Posted 5 April 2024) Paul Hodgkin of Ipswich and Diss Area Meeting asks the question in his article in 'The Friend' issue 5 April 2024 (page 10/11) entitled 'Economy drive: Paul Hodgkin asks if it's time for a Quaker testimony against capitalism. 'How do we create meaning in a world that seems headed for the medieval or the neolithic?'
Food for Thought (Posted 5 April 2024) article contributed to 'The Friend' issue 8 March 2024 (page 15) on food ethics by Wendy Pattinson from Clitheroe Meeting entitled 'Don't feed the idol'.
Article in 'The Friend' issue 5 April 2024 (page 8) by Amy Ellis of Jesus Lane Meeting entitled 'Using your LOAF' Local - Organic - Animal-Friendly - Fairtrade. She asked her Meeting to consider the foods served and whether the choices truly represented the Quaker testimonies.
Food Sustainability (Posted 25 March 2024) a food sustainability toolkit for home cooks and industry professionals has been set up by the Welsh Assembly with Tom Hunt, Chef. You can access it for free at drink-food.wales. It is full of tips to help reduce food waste, packaging and energy use in the kitchen. It is also a great source for Welsh inspired recipes.
UN Special Rapporteur Report on Environmental Defenders in UK under the Aarhus Convention. (Posted 4 March 2024) Michael Forst was appointed Special Rapporteur by the UN and came here in January to do an inspection and report on the current situation in the UK. His report is attached and makes for uncomfortable, disturbing reading.
Veganic Gardening (Posted 9 February 2024)
In Issue 1, 2024 of the Allotment Gardener Magazine, an article highlights the increasing popularity of veganic gardening. Animal products are not used, organic practices are followed and many gardeners also follow the no-dig method. Alternative methods of soil fertility are green manures, composting and using well-rotted wood chippings. A new inter-active global map is helping to plot where veganic gardeners are located. If you are a veganic gardener you are encouraged to plot your location on this map visit https://vonmap.uk/
Update on Call for an International Ecocide Law (Posted 9 February 2024)
Article in the Friend, 2 February 2024, questions whether it is time for Quaker Friends to be more committed to supporting the international campaign for a law against ecocide. So far the Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches have endorsed the call. The EU is criminalising 'cases comparable to ecocide' and the Netherlands, Belgium, Brazil, Spain (Catalunya), Italy and Mexico are developing ecocide bills. Scotland is consulting on the subject. Marian from Redland Meeting and Mike from Glasgow Meeting who write the article say Quakers in England and Wales have been supportive but have not formally endorsed the campaign. They wonder 'is it time to be more committed?'.
Climate Choirs Sing for the Plant (Posted 9 February 2024)
In Issue 116 of Positive News, there is an article about the growth of climate choirs in the UK. Quaker Friend, Jo Flanagan, is a co-founder of the Climate Choir movement which first performed at the HSBC Bank's AGM in April 2022 with XR to protest against their fossil fuel investment. The article reports that there are now 10 choirs across the UK with around 550 members. The local choirs organise their own rehearsals and protests. Each month there are sessions on Zoom to learn new songs. A novel and positive way to protest.
Green Gas Mill in the UK (Posted 15 January 2024)
News from Ecotricity shares that their first green gas mill started operating summer of 2023 in Reading. They are pumping green gas made from grass into the local grid. This is an addition to the wind and solar energy they already provide.
2023 Hopeful Signs (taken from email received from Positive News magazine)
(Posted 23 December 2023)
China's emissions forecast to start falling in 2024 due to rapid roll out of renewables. EU burning of coal and gas for electricity fell to record lows this year.
Class entered the climate debate. Oxfam investigation in November revealed richest 1% of humanity belched out more emisions in 2019 than 66% of the poorest. Paving way for targeted climate solutions. eg - could have policy changes to impact on frequent flyers of private jets.
Ecuador voted to just stop oil. 60% of voters in a referendum said 'no' to oil exploration in Yasun National Park in the Amazon.
COP28 - climate reparations became a reality. Launch of Loss and Damage Fund - some significant contributions made. It's a start.
Climate litigation ramped up - number of court cases being brought has doubled in last 5 years says a UN report released in July. Highlighting a series of landmark rulings.
Key rail routes launched in Europe - eco travellers taking to trains in greater numbers.
Looking to the future - second time scientists in California have achieved 'ignition' which will lead the way to nuclear fusion.
COP 28 - SIDE EVENT - Shifting Money and Power - True Transformation
(Posted 17 December 2023)
QUNO led this side event during COP28 in Dubai and have posted a recording on Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyt-XZh2q74
It is about 1hr30mins in duration.
presented their update report to Meeting for Sufferings in October. The group helps us to see whether we are meeting our 2011 Canterbury Commitment to become a low-carbon, sustainable community. The report which can be viewed here gives an overview of the actions being taken, covering five broad areas:
Quaker Eco Church Network - bi-monthly meetings on Zoom for participating Meetings
A Rocha UK’s Eco Church programme is a learning community of churches of all denominations shapes and sizes. It provides a framework to take practical action on caring for God’s earth. You can find more general information about the Eco Church network on A Rocha UK's website. https://ecochurch.arocha.org.uk/
The Quaker Eco Church Network meets bi-monthly on Zoom to connect with Quaker meetings across the UK who are working towards A Rocha’s Eco Church Accreditation to make our meeting houses more sustainable. For more details go to: https://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/learn/climate-crisis#courses
Property and Resource Sustainability Database
Woodbrooke is developing a database to share collective learning and document the Yearly Meeting’s journey towards sustainability. The database will connect meetings that are discerning how best to use their property and resources with meetings that have already made changes. These might be small or large, getting solar panels, moving to a new meeting house or developing a garden as a place of sanctuary.
If you have experience to share with others, please fill in this form so that your contribution can be included in the database: https://forms.gle/piqxNGqvcwWaqYak9
Complete Form for the Property and Resource Sustainability Database
Events: For information about events taking place in the coming months, click here