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ABCD Climate and Nature Pledge: 2023 Elections

Local elections are coming up again on May 4th. This is a big moment for local democracy, with elections being held in 46 councils across the South East. With the upheavals in national politics, the outcome of local elections is even more unpredictable than usual. Although climate action is now a...

Your planet needs you – join the United for Warm Homes movement!

Friends of the Earth is running a campaign that aims to help local groups use the energy crisis as a way of connecting with their wider community to build a broader movement for change. This blog by South East Campaign Organiser Brenda Pollack outlines the aims of United for Warm Homes and how you...

OnePlanet technology in action

SECA held an online Knowledge Sharing event on 9 February focused on how the OnePlanet technology platform is helping organisations join the dots for a sustainable future. This blog by Pauline Cory highlights some of the ideas raised by the session. Some 50 people logged on to an online Knowledge...

Campaigners revitalised by Local Democracy Day

SECA's annual gathering brought together more than 100 people to share campaigning experience and expertise and to meet in person for the first time since before the Covid pandemic. A wide range of speakers offered sage advice from their differing perspectives on how to engage with local officials...

Top tips on how to engage with and influence councils

How do you put pressure on local councils to take action on the climate? When SECA members met at their 2023 annual gathering they compared notes on which tactics had worked best. These are the nine ‘top tips’ that emerged from a rich discussion, a distillation of many years of campaigning...

Methane campaigners highlight ongoing emissions

Despite the commitments made at the COP26 climate summit in November 2021, methane and other gases continue to be released from onshore oil wells. This blog by Emily Mott of the Weald Action Group describes a recent site survey and calls for corporate action to follow government words. The...

Good COP? Bad COP? COP out?

While the COP27 talks in Egypt did not deliver any dramatic new initiatives to address the climate crisis, moving the debate to Africa delivered a more inclusive COP and an agreement to help the most vulnerable cope with the impacts of climate change. Thalia Griffiths asks what happens next. With...

Attendees Informed by Nature at Summer Gathering

SECA Co-founder Nicola Peel brought like-minded people together in early September to discuss how we can learn from nature. In this blog she describes what participants got up to, and how we can find out more about the topics discussed. Over the first weekend in September Nicola Peel held a Summer...

New online tool puts local data at campaigners’ fingertips

Friends of the Earth have developed an online tool which gathers data from each Local Authority area to help campaigners identify the key areas where action is needed. This blog describes how the Near You data tool was developed and how campaign groups can use it to push for change from local...

We want affordable green energy, not fossil fuels!

Divest East Sussex is campaigning to put pressure on East Sussex County Council to stop investing its pension fund cash in fossil fuel companies. Supporters organised a fast and vigil outside County Hall in Lewes in the run-up to July's vote. This blog by Gabriel Carlyle outlines the issues...