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 can get involved.
Do you want
- more group members?
- greater visibility and reach in your area?
- to be taken seriously by your local parliamentary representative?
- to help fix our broken energy system?
Then read on.
Soaring energy bills dominate the UK’s headlines and more and more people are struggling to pay their bills. With over 80% of UK homes dependent on climate-wrecking gas for heat, our failed energy system is not only fuelling an energy bills crisis, but also worsening the climate crisis. That’s why Friends of the Earth is supporting people up and down the country to run a local campaign, bringing communities together to help support one another with the impacts of soaring energy costs and demand the right to a warm home.
The United for Warm Homes campaign has been developed to enable local environmental groups to partner with diverse groups in their area to help shine a light on the need for more funding and more action to be taken to help people heat their homes without heating the planet.
With the next general election likely in 2024, groups are building local partnerships – ready to show current MPs and future parliamentary candidates that a broad spectrum of voters wants them to step up and allocate the funding needed to keep bills and emissions down.
construction worker building a log house
Take Part
Would your group like to help build a collaborative campaign to ensure the government does far more to ensure homes are heated without costing the earth or impacting the poorest the most?
We need to build a broad movement that isn’t just environmental groups advocating for change. This campaign can help you grow your group’s reach and provides a platform for reaching out to non-environmental groups such as faith groups and groups representing those in need and/or most affected by the crisis.
Friends of the Earth has step by step guides on how you can use this campaign to build your presence in your area and collaborate with others. If you register to take part you can create your own local petition which is a great tool to allow you to start conversations on stalls and at meetings. Friends of the Earth provides guidance to help build your online campaigning presence and grow your email list so you can share your work with more followers.
We’ll only win our campaign if we can show that we have broad and vocal support from a range of communities. Without pressure from the people who vote for them, politicians won’t feel the pressure to act. That’s why our initial aim is to build local public support
for the campaign, through local groups like yours organising engaging community events, craftivism activities, film screenings and much more.
Register to take part here.
What needs to change?
The campaign is calling for:
- Urgent support for people dealing with sky-high energy bills.
- A new emergency programme to insulate our heat-leaking homes.
- An energy system powered by cheap, green renewables.
More information about the political demands of the campaign can be found here.
Brenda, the FoE South East Campaign Organiser, is happy to answer any questions and let you know what support is on offer to help you if your group wants to take part. For example, Friends of the Earth has grants available to help you run meetings with other groups in your area or to pay for leaflets relating to this work. She can be contacted at brenda.pollack@foe.co.uk.