People’s Emergency Briefing: On the Climate and Nature Crisis (Plus New Gov Petition)

This new and exciting initiative, showing in hundreds of community spaces over the country, aims to inform people about the climate and nature crisis while at the same time providing the agency to respond, grasping the opportunities that this crisis represents, and giving government the mandate to act.   In November last year, more than 1,200 MPs, peers and leaders from business, culture, faith, sport and the media gathered at Westminster Central Hall for a landmark national briefing delivered by leading climate scientists and other UK experts. The event opened with broadcaster Chris Packham, who called for clear public understanding of the risks facing the UK. The experts then addressed the implications of climate and nature breakdown for food security, health, national security, infrastructure and the economy, alongside practical evidence on how risks can still be reduced.

A film, the People’s Emergency Briefing, has been made, based on this event and is now being rolled out all over the UK, with many showings organised in Bristol.  The film, which runs for about 45 minutes, is followed by a facilitated discussion on the implications and opportunities for people locally.

Local MPs, councillors and community leaders are being invited to attend and will be encouraged to take part in discussing how to respond as a community.  Darren Jones, MP for Bristol North West, has committed to attending as many showings of the film in his constituency as he can manage, in order to support his constituents in action going forward.

Chris Packham has said:
“I’d encourage people everywhere to attend a screening of the People’s Emergency Briefing. It creates exactly the kind of honest local conversation we now urgently need, both about what these changes mean where we live, and about what we can do together to address them.”

The aim is to create a non-political space for a calm local conversation about issues that increasingly affect all of us. The event is open to anyone who wants to come, whatever their starting point and whatever their views or concerns.

The National Emergency Briefing is supported by organisations across conservation, education, faith and civil society, including the Church of England, WWF, the National Trust, CPRE and the Royal Meteorological Society.

Screening Map: www.nebriefing.org/screening-map
Website (with further details): www.nebriefing.org

New NEB Government Petition

Today we launched an official UK parliamentary petition calling for a UK-wide public briefing from independent experts on the risks posed by climate change and nature loss - and the opportunities if we respond at scale and with urgency.

Our aim is to reach 100,000 signatures to secure a Parliamentary debate, generate media attention, and significantly raise the profile of the National Emergency Briefing in Parliament.

If you support this idea, please could you sign - and, crucially, share it with friends, family or colleagues who might be interested? Petition link: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/767687

The public deserves clear, trusted information about the risks we face - from extreme weather and food insecurity to economic disruption and national security threats - and about what we can do together in response.

This petition runs alongside our Parliamentary Call for government to stage a televised emergency briefing. You can enter your postcode here to check if your MP has joined the Parliamentary Call yet. Our postcode tool guides you through emailing your MP if not - or thanking them if they are already on board.

Just so you are aware, a group of supportive MPs are also helping by gathering MP signatories to this Early Day Motion for a televised briefing - another great way to build awareness and support in Parliament.

Why are we changing tack from our open letter - and asking you to sign again?

The original open letter on our website, which attracted over 50,000 signatures, helped us communicate with a large number of people and raise awareness about the new film. Now, with nearly 1,100 film screenings on the map, achieving the 100,000 signatories threshold for securing a Parliamentary debate feels within reach - so we switching over to a government petition.

Because government petitions operate through the UK Parliament website, previous signatures cannot be transferred across. So even if you signed before, we are asking if you could sign again using the link above.

Our thanks to Chris Packham, who lodged the petition. The petition administrators required some minor rewording before they would accept it. The words “televised” and “prime-time” were replaced with “UK-wide”. In some ways this is better, underlining that the message needs to go out in multiple ways beyond television: social media, leaflets, billboards and more. We know about the stray "if" - hopefully will be corrected soon.