Rather than lots of information, this page has details of what we've done recently
so you can get some idea of what we do. Please do contact us if you wish to get in touch with our lead campaigners to find out more.
Gordon Brown and his government should not allow the EU Renewables Directive to be weakened below 20% of EU energy from renewable sources by 2020. As things stand the renewables industry needs a major boost, but currently the figure for renewable energy in the UK stands at less than 2%, so we need to make a big step up to meet a 15% target by 2020. The EU Energy Council met to discuss the Renewables Directive in October and it should be finalised sometime between the end of 2008 and April 2009. Unfortunately, instead of showing strong support for the target the Government is now seeking "flexibility" which could undermine the target and there is a chance that the decision making
on the Renewables Directive could be wrapped up at the Energy Council
meeting in December.
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Renewables Day of Action:You can keep the pressure up by asking your MP to help make the target as strong as possible. We need to show the Government that there is real, broad, cross-community support for a strong UK Renewables Strategy. The target should not include renewable energy credits bought from outside the EU, nor Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) from fossil fuel plants, nor large-scale projects that will not finish before 2020.
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- Renewables postcards: Rugby FoE are asking you to sign postcards to your MP which ask them to write to the Prime Minister to back a strong Renewables Directive and to not allow the targets within it to be weakened. This needs to be done now in order to give your MP time to write to Gordon Brown and for him to respond to them before the Energy Council meeting in December
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There is also the issue of priority access to the national grid system. On access to the electricity grid, the draft directive said: "Member states shall also provide for priority access to the grid system of electricity produced from renewable energy sources". However, Britain wants to change "shall" to "may" - which experts say
would seriously undermine the directive. Please support the petition to Downing Street to impose a minimum feed in tariff for domestic generated electricity.
The Second Reading of the Climate Change Bill took place on 9th June. Its Committee stage started in the House of Commons on Thursday 19th June and was completed on Tuesday 8th July. The Bill can now be debated by all MPs during the decisive Report Stage in October or November. You can keep the pressure up by asking your MP to make the Climate Change Bill as strong as possible.
In the next few months (Summer 2008), largely in response to 'The Big Ask', Friends of the Earth's climate campaign, a UK Parliament bill will become the first Climate Change law in the world to set legally binding government targets for carbon emissions. It’s ground-breaking legislation – but something is missing.
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Flying in the face of reason, Gordon Brown and his government are ignoring the UK’s share of international aviation & shipping emissions and have left them out of the law. We’re not saying everyone must stop flying, but it is vital that all carbon emissions are counted. Aviation & shipping must be treated like any other sector of the economy. It is ludicrous and unfair for one industry to be ignored and held apart.
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Contact your MP and ask them to support The Climate Change Bill EDM 736
On Saturday 5th April Rugby FoE urged Prime Minister Gordon Brown to stop ignoring aviation today.
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(See a Video Clip from our part in the national Day of Action).
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2007-2008
Current local environmental issues also include the plans for Windfarms nearby.
Plans were released in February 2008 for a wind farm near Rugby and the energy firm bidding to develop it
pledged that if Daventry District Council granted permission for the site they would put money into a fund for community projects.
They held an information day on 26th Feb and also offered villagers the chance to visit one of their other wind farms at Burton Latimer (near Kettering) to help allay any concerns.
(See also the RugbyAdvertiser-TV clip {1 minute 39 seconds long}).
The plans received a mixed response . Alan Chantler (who is interviewed in the video too) is not convinced - but other villagers dont mind.
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Another company is now looking into the feasibility of a similar development on a site nearby and early findings by Daventry District Council point to wind power being one of the most economically viable options for a renewable energy supply.
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2005
The main campaign for 2005 was Climate Change - we launched the campaign in Rugby at the
Spring Fair on May Day. We chatted to lots of people and gave out lots of leaflets about the impending
Climate Change. We also demonstrated how electricity can be generated using the Energy Bike which powers a
radio when the rider pedals.
2003-2004
When Friends of the Earth called a Day of Action on GM foods, we decided to take a positive
tack and set up a stall outside Marks and Spencer's because they are one of the few retailers to guarantee
that their dairy cattle are not fed GM feed. Sadly, we didn't get any press coverage - but lots of interest from the
public and these photos.
2002-2003
Local campaigns included the Anti-Airport Campaign.
