The previous week we were in Summerfield with Shabana Mahmood, MP for Ladywood, and while she wasn't prepared to record a message for us, we did speak to Mark Clemson of New World Solar, who said the following about what MPs can do to support the solar industry:
Today, as
part of my year volunteering with Friends of the Earth, I had the
opportunity of attending a meeting with MP Shabana Mahmood. Members
of Birmingham Friends of the Earth, representatives of New World
Solar and Family Housing Association, and local residents met at
Memorial Hall on Summerfield Crescent to inform Shabana about Friends
of the Earth’s Final Demand campaign and encourage her to support
us.
The campaign
calls on the Government to help fix our broken energy system. We are
urging David Cameron to launch a public inquiry into the power and
influence of the big six energy companies that provide us with 99% of
our household energy. We also want the Government to stop axing
support for smaller, clean energy companies and community energy
projects.
It was great
to be able to experience the eco-village of Summerfield first hand
and see the innovative energy saving processes that have been
installed in the parish office. Examples of these were the light
wells that let daylight in through the roof and work as well as
electric lights (and look even nicer). Around the walls were displays
of the types of insulation used in the walls, including sheep wool.
The effects of this were clear immediately on entering the invitingly
warm building.
The meeting
opened with a brief history of the Summerfield area from local
resident Chris Vaughan, who explained that the idea for the parish
eco office developed as part of the regeneration of Summerfield, and
was unanimously pushed forward by those involved in the project.
Chris believes that the renovation of Summerfield is a main factor in
making the area a desirable place to live.
Kara Moses
and Joe Peacock (Birmingham Friends of the Earth) introduced the
Final Demand campaign. Kara talked about the power of the big six,
the public’s outrage at the rocketing prices despite a fall in gas
prices and the enormous profits of the energy companies despite a
fall in sales. Joe spoke about the cuts in Feed in Tariffs and the
unstable future of the solar industry that has come about as a result
of the Government’s decisions.
Overall,
Shabana seemed positive and enthusiastic about a greener future for
the West Midlands. She understood the need to start a green
revolution, and was aware that the West Midlands is the most fuel
poor region in the UK. She expressed particular interest in New World
Solar, asking director Mark Clemson for a history and briefing of the
company.
Shabana
agreed to take away the joint statement for further discussion, and
those who attended the meeting had a photo taken outside the parish
office.
As we are well aware through our work on the Final Demand Campaign, rising fuel bills
are stretching household finances and people are looking for ways to
save money on their energy bills. Supporter of our campaign, Birmingham
Citizens Advice Bureau, is here to help.
They will give practical advice and help throughout Big
Energy Week (16-21 January 2012) to help people cut their fuel bills
and get all the financial support they are entitled to. They will
also be putting on a special event at the Tyseley bureau on Thursday
19 January (09:30-18:30). Staff will be on hand to help people reduce
their energy bills, and will be signposting those who qualify for
additional support and home improvements.
Financial Inclusion
Manager Florence Betts said: “More and
more people are coming to us for advice on how to spend less on their
fuel bills. Through Big Energy Week we want to tell people that help
is at hand and that there are things they can do to cut their fuel
bills.”
Birmingham Citizens
Advice Bureau is urging people to speak to their energy supplier to
check that they’re getting the best deal and are on the cheapest
payment method - and to save energy by insulating your home – most
energy companies are offering free and/or discounted insulation.
You could save more
by switching energy suppliers and an accredited switching website can
help you do this.
Plus it’s important to
check that you are getting all of the benefits and tax credits that
you’re entitled to – as you could be missing out on money that
could make it easier to pay your fuel bill.
You can pick up a
leaflet with tips and advice on cutting your fuel bills at Birmingham
Citizens Advice Bureau.
Big Energy Week is an
advice campaign coordinated by Citizens Advice to help consumers
spend less on heating their home.
A new website –
www.bigenergyweek.org.uk
- is full of tips on how to cut your energy bills. And as part of
Big Energy Week there will be events up and down the country where
people can get practical advice on how they could spend less on
heating their home.
We are also continuing to gather support for our campaign for a public enquiry into the power and influence of the ‘big six’ energy companies, to assess whether our current system is fit for purpose to deliver the clean, affordable and secure energy we need. You can sign the petition online here or on paper in the reception of our building.
The campaign to save environmental protections within the planning system was taken up by many organisations this autumn and we played our part in pointing out the damage that will be done if developers just have free reign to build what they want where they want.
Friends of the Earth gave us the campaign slogan "Talk half as much rubbish" earlier in the year, but we found most people didn't associate David Cameron with their bins (strange as it may seem), so we put our focus on lobbying the council to halve the amount of rubbish. We got about 800 signatures on a petition for food waste collections and better recycling, as well as producing reports on the waste system and the damage done by the incinerator. We are now engaging with the Municipal Waste Review being conducted by the scrutiny committee to whom we'll give evidence in January.
This was the tenth year we've done a Santa Parade in Birmingham for Buy Nothing Day. This year we got a big piece on the radio about consumption and Christmas as well as press coverage and lots of people dancing round the streets with us :-) This video provides pictures from many of those ten years and the radio piece:
As part of the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition, we always put on events to raise awareness of what is happening amongst the public and politicians. This year it was a screening of the film Dirty Oil at the BMI, followed by a discussion.
The talks in Durban weren't as bad as we feared they might be, but still haven't done anything yet to prevent runaway climate change. Here's Andy Atkins of Friends of the Earth talking about it:
All that makes it even more important that our Final Demand campaign makes a big impact both on the way the energy market is run and the carbon emissions it's responsible for. We are hoping to get thousands of signatures to show the government that people really want a shift in power away from the Big 6 with people taking control over producing their own energy, not just pouring money into shareholders' pockets.
This shot is from Bristol, but we are all ready to hit the streets of Birmingham next year and make a real difference to the carbon emissions of retailers by getting them to close the doors. We have the materials and just need an army of volunteers to go round speaking to shopkeepers. Let us know if you want to help.
The last slide is for our wonderful volunteers, without whom, none of this would happen:
Last Saturday Young
Friends of the Earth Midlands (people aged 18-30 involved in FoE) met
for its first time ever. For our first action we decided to dress up
like reps from the big six energy companies to thank our faithful
customers for their ongoing support, “even though your annual bill
has gone up by an average of £500 our shareholders annual payment
has increased by 150%..... so every cloud.”
Considering this was
the first time the group had done anything, the turnout was
excellent. People came from throughout the Midlands (with one notable
exception who came from Leeds) to inform people about the Friends of
the Earth 'Final Demand' campaign. While for the most part people
understood the irony intended in the message, several people did
lecture me about the evils of their energy provider and in one
instance that I should be ashamed of myself! This just helped to
bring home how fed up people are with the 'big six' and how urgently
an enquiry into them is needed.
You can watch the
following You-tube clip for a brief snippet of the day.
All things considered, I felt that it was a
success and I am particularly grateful for those who took part on the
day, I just hope the group can continue to flourish into the new
year.
If you wish to get
involved with Young FoE, please get in touch via campaigns@birminghamfoe.org.uk, so together we can make
our second event just as successful as the first.
