As we enter our fifth heatwave of the summer, the new Prime Minister has finally convened a COBR meeting
As we enter our fifth heatwave of the summer, the new Prime Minister has finally convened a COBR meeting. Although the NEB team proposed an urgent agenda for it, the key outcome was a discussion over banning disposable BBQs…
People across the UK are desperate for the government to deliver action that matches the scale of the crisis. That’s why Chris Packham’s petition calling for the government to deliver a televised emergency briefing is currently seeing 1,000+ new signatures a day!
It only needs ~28k more signatures to be considered for debate in Parliament, so please sign and share. You can now follow the petition’s progress using this fantastic tracker by Dr Richard Clarke, senior lecturer and researcher in psychology at the University of Gloucester.
Please help by sharing our posts about the petition on Facebook and Instagram.
‘We should start agitating for this’ - James O’Brien
In an emotional moment, LBC’s James O’Brien speaks to Carol, a volunteer gardener at Morden Hall Park. Carol breaks down in tears as she talks about her fears over the excessive heat this summer and her request to the National Trust to screen the People’s Emergency Briefing for staff and visitors.
Discussing the need for a televised emergency briefing by the government, James O’Brien says: ‘We need to agitate for this now’ and advises his 1.5 million listeners that ‘You need the fear to feed the urgency and the urgency to feed the change.’
It’s an incredibly moving conversation – and one that will echo with lots of us who share Carol’s fears after this devastating summer. We're incredibly grateful to Carol for reaching so many people with her powerful message.
We’re in touch with James’ team about joining him at a screening. Please help us by reposting our socials below.
NEB for Business
Recently Alex Sobel MP joined an internal screening at Channel 4 where he discussed our call for a televised emergency briefing broadcast on all major channels.
Other notable organisations which have screened the film internally - or have screenings booked - include Transport for London, The Royal Ballet & Opera, The National Lottery, English Heritage, RAF and MOD locations, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Environment Agency.
If your business or workplace would like to host an internal screening for staff, we have now launched our NEB for Business initiative. We will be providing bespoke support for organisations and businesses keen to host internal staff screenings.
Want to know more? See ourworkplace screening guideand contact our NEB for Business leaddonna@nebriefing.org.
The NEB team is growing
A big welcome to our new team members:
Linda Aspey has been our Psychology Advisor since September last year, and is now our Director of Psychology, guiding the integration of psychology into NEB’s work and leading on our partnership with the Climate Psychology Alliance.
Dr Joanna Macrae OBE is our new Director of Political Strategy. Joanna brings a wealth of experience as a former civil servant in Whitehall. She is leading on political engagement in Westminster, Holyrood, the Senedd, and Stormont.
Donna Okell is our new Director for Business and is leading a national programme of engagement with businesses, trade associations, professional bodies, and membership organisations as part of our NEB for Business initiative.
Jamie Russell is our new Community Organising Lead. Jamie joins from Zero Hour, where he worked on the Climate and Nature Bill campaign. He is the first point of contact for hosts, supporters, and local councils.
To find out more about the NEB team see ourAbout Uspage.
Climate Psychology Alliance Training
Do you want to make the post-film discussion as impactful as the film? Linda Aspey and a team from the Climate Psychology Alliance run regular, free workshops for hosts / facilitators. There are 2 levels:
1) foundational workshops which focus on typical psychological and emotional responses to climate issues, and how to plan and facilitate to overcome barriers, handle tricky moments, engage audiences and generate a sense of agency.
2) workshops for workplace screenings which explore additional drivers and forces that can make climate conversations, engagement and action more challenging, and how you can prepare and handle responses that come up at work.
All hosts can sign up for the foundation level training sessions here and workplace sessions here. Places are limited to 12 each workshop, and bespoke training is available for large organisations rolling out the film.
For more information, please contactlinda@nebriefing.org
Growing cross-party support
Since our last newsletter, a further six MPs have joined the call for a televised emergency briefing. Huge thanks to the MPs shown above for recognising that the government needs to properly inform the public about the risks we now face. To see if your MP is among the 144 MPs now supporting, please visit our new Parliamentary Call page.
Meanwhile, we’re working alongside colleagues in Holyrood, the Senned, and Stormont to encourage devolved nations to hold their own televised emergency briefings. A petition is now live in the Senedd calling for this. If you live in Wales, please sign and share it and encourage your MSes and MP to join the call too.
