RBS is holding its Annual General Meeting in Edinburgh on 28th April 2010.  But we are not invited, despite being the majority shareholder. We want RBS to listen to the public, so we are holding an RBS Public Shareholder Meeting at the Mercure Point Hotel, Bread St, Edinburgh at 6:00pm, on the same day, which anyone can attend.

The event will be chaired by Sunday Herald environment correspondent, Rob Edwards; we’ll have inspirational speakers representing indigenous communities around the world who are suffering the direct effects of RBS’s dirty investments, as well as representatives of the renewables industry that RBS currently underfunds:

Speakers:

• ERIEL TCHEKWIE DERANGER, First Nations tribe member from Canada
• SIMON CHAMBERS, Documentary-maker and campaigner
• RICHARD GAULD, Founder and MD of Orkney Sustainable Energy
• KEVIN SMITH, Climate & Finance Campaigner, PLATFORM

We want you – the public owners of RBS – to submit your own Motions for discussion.  Send us your suggestions for how RBS could become the Royal Bank of Sustainability and how you’d like to see your money invested for good.  We’ll vote on the motions at the meeting and send the winning ones to the UK Government and the Board of RBS. Read motions submitted so far here.

This event is organised by SEAD  Amnesty International Scotland, Friends of the Earth Scotland, People & Planet, Platform and the World Development Movement.

The event is free and open to everyone, but please register below if you want to come along.

If you want to get further involved on the day why not join the ‘public shareholders’ protest outside the RBS AGM (12 noon, Edinburgh International Conference Centre). Wear your smart suit; we are now shareholders after all! Find out more.

“We are seeing a terrifyingly high rate of cancer in Fort Chipewyan where I live. We are convinced that these cancers are linked to the Tar Sands development on our doorstep. It is shortening our lives. That’s why we no longer call it ‘dirty oil’ but ‘bloody oil’. The blood of Fort Chipewyan people is on these companies’ hands.” –  George Poitras, former chief of Mikisew Cree First Nation.

The higher oil prices in recent years have meant that it’s become a more attractive prospect for oil companies to expand their operations in the costly process of obtaining and processing the thick bitumen into a usable form. It’s estimated that the industry is looking for a capital investment of $120-$220 billion over the next 20 years to build the new pipelines, mines, refineries and upgraders that are necessary to sustain the boom.

This report looks at the role that UK banks are playing in providing the necessary capital, and how RBS, which is 84% owned by the UK public, has been the bank the most heavily involved in underwriting loans to companies engaging in tar sands extraction.

The report is written by Platform London in partnership with SEAD, Friends of the Earth Scotland, People & Planet, WDM, Bank Track, New Internationalist, Rainforest Action Network, Friends of the Earth Europe, Greenpeace, PiPLiNKS, Canadian Indigenous Tar Sands Campaign  and  Campagna per la riforma della Banca Mondiale.

Click here to download a copy of the full report. (PDF 2.1Mb)

The report entitled ‘Are we Switching On? Challenges and Opportunities for Climate Change Education’ identifies and profiles projects which empower people to take action to tackle climate change in their own lives and communities, rather than those which simply give information without an action-based focus. It serves as a dynamic overview of some of the key approaches to creating behavioural change through climate education, as well as an inspiring bank of ideas which organisations large or small can use to develop their own work.

• It examines the challenges and opportunities faced by groups in Scotland working to create climate action – and places an emphasis on creating positive solutions, and community-based action which builds resilience on all levels.
• It offers advice on how to avoid preaching to the converted, and to reach out to involve the wider community.
• The report also recommends that communities must have access to support at all levels to help them develop – from funding to mentoring, resources and training.
• It also highlights a need for sharing of experience between projects.

The report, written by community educator Jamie Auldsmith, is published by SEAD as part of our Switch On to Climate Change project, showcases the work of groups and projects including Going Carbon Neutral Stirling, PLANEspeaking, the John Muir Trust, EcoCongregations, the Transition Scotland network, Eco Schools and the Centre for Human Ecology.

Click here to download a copy of the full report. (Pdf 750Kb)

Those concerned about climate change and the credit crunch turned their backs on shopping this Christmas for a fun alternative, the SEAD Christmas Clothes Swap-O-Rama. Everyone brought a bag of clothes and under appreciated presents. The contributions were laid out, people browsed and hey presto got a new look and Christmas presents for the family! Around 120 people became swappers and learnt how to make beautiful gifts from waste with Waste Innovations while enjoying live music by local musicians.

In 2008 many exciting community action initiatives to tackle climate change started up in Edinburgh. The Swap-O-Rama focused on bringing people together to swap, create, meet, hang out and find out about these local initiative’s and how they can get involved. The day was a real success and swappers ended the day by calling out for the next event!

To some people it might seem like a strange thing for SEAD, a charity that supports communities tackling climate change, to be doing with its Sunday afternoons. But by giving old things a new lease on life, rather than letting them fester at the backs of cupboards or in landfills, we’re tackling the problems of over production and getting to meet new people and build links within our community.
In recent years there’s been a veritable explosion in the number of groups and websites providing resources to help people swap all kinds of skills and stuff, in a rejection of mainstream ‘buy it and bin it’ consumer culture.

One of the most well known examples is Freecycle, which now has over 4000 swapping communities around the world, with 1,487,765 members in the UK, and 44 groups in Scotland. Freecycle members join an online community, made up of people in their local area. Members list their unwanted stuff, and others agree to take it off their hands, without any money changing hands and with no need for a landfill site. Even though there’s little face to face communication, Freecycle helps build community, by showing people that there are lots of untapped resources right there in their locality, without having to turn to multinational businesses to find what you need.

The Freeconomy Community is another, fledgling online swapping resource that is even more clearly dedicated to building communities’ resilience in the face of fast progressing climate change. Rather than simply swapping objects, Freeconomy is all about providing the skills and the means for communities to learn new skills and do things for themselves. Members list the skills they are able to share, and can also draw on the skills of other group members. There are also forums for listing tools and spare home, office and garden space for other people to use. Unlike Freecycle, Freeconomy communities are intended to have a life outside the cyber-dimension. You’re given just three opportunities to email a Freeconomy member, and that’s it: after three emails you’re expected to get off the net and meet them face to face. The Freeconomy philosophy all revolves around the idea that being part of ‘a closely knit community with a diverse group of skills could well be the security of tomorrow.’

Even websites that aren’t primarily about swapping have developed sections for people to swap and trade without the need for cash. For example, Gumtree, the hugely popular network of classified ads, is primarily used by people looking to find housing to rent and flatmates to live with. But their focus on community and the ever increasing demand for communities to share their resources means that they also have sections for listing skills available for sharing skills and a ride-sharing section helping people to save money and carbon emissions.

Since the recession started, there’s been a flurry of interest in swapping clubs and online communities, mainly because of their money saving potential. Given that swapping not shopping can save you money, stop us wasting so many usable material goods and help our communities to regain the skills of self sufficiency, it’s difficult to see why everyone isn’t doing it.

You can find out more about all of these swapping resources at:
http://uk.freecycle.org
http://www.justfortheloveofit.org
http://www.gumtree.com

Here you’ll find a wealth of information about help you can get in Scotland, and links you can make with groups all over the world.

There is information on everything from compost to cultural activism, nuclear power and global finance. Whether you want to get involved in something which already exists, or to set up a new project, there are resources here to help you with everything from writing a constitution to fundraising and running successful meetings. We’ve also included case studies of community action here in Scotland and far afield – bringing inspiration and new ideas for what’s possible.

Please let us know what you think of the site. Is it missing something important? Have we got something wrong? We will be constantly updating it, and we plan to launch it formally in early 2009, once we’ve worked through any glitches that arise in the first few weeks. Your feedback is an essential part of that. You can either contact us by adding a comment to this post, or by contacting us at the address at the bottom of this page.

Platform, the environmental organisation spearheading the Oil Bank of Scotland Campaign, are collecting email addresses of the bank’s customers to carry out a coordinated online campaign. They stress that customers of the bank shouldn’t feel guilty about their membership of RBS, rather they should use their consumer power to ask the bank to change the projects they fund and become more environmentally aware. Other ideas for action that could help bring community members together under this common cause include: petitions, meeting with bank managers en masse, demonstrations and letter writing campaigns. For copies of the report Cashing in on Coal contact lorraine@sead.org.uk, and for more information on the Oil Bank of Scotland campaign, and Platform’s demands visit http://www.oyalbankofscotland.com

So what brought this sea change from individual angst to community action? The group started, Peter Roberts explains, after he and two other local residents put their heads together with SEAD and planned a series of three events for May, aimed at raising people’s awareness and bringing them together to act.

The first two meetings were for information sharing: with film showings borrowed from the Switch On to Climate Change film library followed by discussion. Peter attributes the success of these events to the ‘broad span of people who supported those three meetings.’ There were representatives from SEAD, Stop Climate Chaos, and Greenpeace, an MSP and community activists from Riverside, Stirling in attendance.

These big events attracted lots of people and energy levels were high, so when the third, action-planning meeting took place, it was very successful. It was at this meeting that Linlithgow Climate Challenge really formed, sub-groups and all.

The group’s first big campaign push is this Autumn: to work with the Energy Saving Trust getting as many Linlithgow homes as possible taking up subsidised or free home insulation. As Peter points out ‘Its all about developing a community capacity to respond to the very challenging circumstances when fossil fuel runs out- we already know there’s fuel poverty in Britain.’ This campaign seems well chosen: the fledgling community group can draw on the resources of a well established organisation, whilst the Energy Saving Trust become more effective as a result of Linlithgow Climate Challenge’s community links – all at a time when energy bills are rocketing and effective home insulation becomes increasingly urgent.

Its not all been plain sailing for the Linlithgow group. There’s a fear that their vast ambition could out strip their capacity, leading to burn out. Their solution, Peter says, is to try and keep things manageable for the time being ‘and then look at a more comprehensive programme when we have a paid coordinator who can pull forward a much more comprehensive plan for the next two years.’ This is the other big task the group is currently undertaking: applying to the Climate Challenge Fund for the cost of a paid member of staff.

Overall it’s a pretty impressive achievement for just a few months. And the future? Local power generation is the dream Peter says, either in the form of a Combined Heat and Power station, or a methane digester for waste products. ‘The key is to get people on board’ he says, ending on a positive note: ‘and show this is an opportunity not a crisis.’

To check out what’s happening in Linlithgow see their website: http://www.linlithgowclimatechallenge.org.uk

From outside the fence of this industrial dinosaur the 2000 climate campers took part in hundreds of workshops and debates. One debate emerging from the camp revolves around how to plan for a future without fossil fuel industries, whilst guaranteeing these workers a fair deal in the transition process. A dialogue with coal workers was opened, and Arthur Scargill even paid us a visit- hopefully we will find further common ground and deepen the dialogue over the coming months.

Everyone also got their hands dirty learning practical skills for sustainable living: building water filtration systems, small-scale renewables and compost toilets.

Yet this was first and foremost a camp for action against Kingsnorth, and the campers used their wit, skill and ingenuity to disrupt work at the power station in protest against e-on’s plans and their government backers. Hundreds of rebel pirates rafted towards the station’s coal jetty, some climbed on to it refusing to leave. Hundreds of land-lubbers headed through fields to Kingsnorth, using some discarded scrap fencing to breach the perimeter fence. A thousand more protesters carnivalled their way to the gates of Kingsnorth, blocking the main gates of the power station.

Despite heavy handed policing, spirits were high and many people pledged to return and stop Kingsnorth if the bulldozer’s roll in. Keep up to date on Climate Camp news at: http://www.climatecamp.org.uk