Southampton residents meet Satvir Kaur MP about climate issues
15 residents of Southampton Test, who all care about climate issues, met Labour’s Satvir Kaur MP on 8th November 2024. It was organised by Southampton Greenpeace as part of Greenpeace’s National Day of Action. This included constituents who are part of Southampton Climate Action Network, a collaboration of residents, green groups and businesses who want to work together to address climate and sustainability issues.
The hour-long meeting was a whistle-stop tour of issues that residents care about including: the wish for MPs to support the Climate and Nature Bill; concerns about slow action on reducing climate emissions; worries about sea level rise and that Southampton could suffer from catastrophic flooding like Valencia; limited progress on building insulation, community energy and renewable generation at a domestic/neighbourhood level; worries about bus fares going up when we need to encourage people to chose sustainable transport; the impact of pollution from Southampton’s port; and the need to improve water quality in Southampton’s treasured rivers and coast.
SoCAN referred Kaur to our community responses to local issues, that we draw together through collaborative action and covered a series of wishes:
A planning system that enables green choices and renewable energy generation
Kaur is interested in planning reform, having led on housing issues when she was a Councillor with Southampton City Council. As SoCAN, we pointed to the key issues we raised as part of the recent National Planning Policy Framework consultation. In summary, planning reform must address carbon emissions so new builds are fully insulated and have adequate energy generation infrastructure such as solar panels that can help meet long-term energy demands. We need to ensure that development includes the appropriate environmental infrastructure to guard against inequalities and fuel poverty, enabling people to make green choices in their day-to-day lives. More details on our NPPF response can be found here: SoCAN News - SoCAN: Southampton Climate Action Network
Making sure communities and climate change are represented in decision-making forums
Kaur talked about Southampton’s “Renaissance Board” which brings people together around big strategic issues. SoCAN questioned how the local community’s voice is represented on this board and how climate issues are being prioritised? Our observations are that many boards like these are dominated by big businesses and anchor institutions, whilst community voices aren’t adequately represented. This means the positive action and knowledge embedded in communities can easily be overlooked, and residents’ real-life issues can be ignored. Kaur committed to finding out more for us about the role of Southampton’s Renaissance Board and the connections with climate action.
The need for an economy that is green and clean, not business as usual
SoCAN pointed to the work that we have been doing around Doughnut Economics and encouraged Kaur and anyone else who wants to get behind an economy that is good for people and planet to watch our Local is the New Global film. This was a collaboration between SoCAN, Hampshire City Council and Southampton City Councillor Sarah Bogle. It demonstrates how cross-sector work, including the voice and expertise of communities, can help us move faster to a sustainable economy.
Building consensus and making sure residents feel part of the solutions
We talked about the role of Climate Assemblies, which can help delve into issues in an evidence-based way, rather than feed on division and culture wars that can so often dominate climate discussions. SoCAN is advocating for the Southampton Citizens’ Climate Assembly 2023/2024 recommendations on transport to be kept alive. We would like to know how organisations are taking the findings forward. Kaur agreed to get an update on this and report back.
Similarly, the recommendations from large public engagement activities such as the River Itchen Scrutiny Inquiry, need to be embedded in the city’s future actions and the work of MPs such as Satvir Kaur. SoCAN looks forward to seeing these recommendations championed in parliament, including ensuring that water quality initiatives are progressed with water companies so that high ecological status can be achieved for the river, and working with others to ensure that all the Inquiry's recommendations are embedded in Southampton’s local policies.
Stopping the lobbying by fossil fuel companies and rethinking Carbon Capture and Storage
The issues of fossil fuel lobbying and greenwashing was raised. SoCAN pointed to the concerns about Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), and the work of Solent Cluster, which has been funded by Exxon Mobil. These concerns are summarised in Southampton Climate Commission’s position statement on Solent Cluster. We also refer to the more recent concerns expressed by climate scientists in their September 2024 collaborative letter about the carbon capture.
Being proud of what Southampton is achieving
There is so much climate action that Southampton can be proud of. We can talk about recycling, which often gets a lot of focus. But reducing, reusing and repairing need to be prioritised rather than thinking we can recycle our way out of environmental degradation. Southampton has four Repair cafes, which is a great example of community action that supports people to be greener whilst also saving money. More ways to be green can be found on the Southampton Sustainability Directory on our SoCAN website. Southampton Food Partnership is growing too, which will develop initiatves around access to healthy, sustainable food.
Keeping the conversation going
Kaur expressed a wish to keep in touch with this group and support more community engagement around climate action. SoCAN and the groups that form part of this network, welcome a more regular meet up with our MPs, so we can keep those people who represent us in parliament in touch with residents’ concerns and ensure that community-based solutions are not overlooked.
For those reading this who are constituents of Southampton’s Darren Paffey MP or Caroline Nokes MP, residents had asked for similar meetings like this one with Kaur. Sadly, this was not able to happen alongside the 8 November meeting, but it is hoped that there will be some progress for Southampton Itchen and Romsey and Southampton North constituents in the near future. Thank you to Greenpeace for all their hard work in trying to bring people together.
Please do sign up for updates from Southampton Climate Action Network through our mailing list. You can find the sign up form on the homepage of our website.
Planning for a greener future
In September 2024, members of the Climate Action Network collaborated on a response to the Government's National Planning Policy Framework.
A full response is available by emailing us. We summarise some of the key points as follows:
We are concerned about the pressure to build in areas of Southampton and other towns where there are high levels of pollution, lack of green space, shortage of green infrastructure, lack of resilience to heatwaves, limited community facilities or poor housing mix. Much more needs to be done to bring empty homes back into use and tackle second home ownership.
We are really concerned about the pressure to build fast, which is impacting on the quality of development. Too many developers aren't sufficiently focused on sustainability and are currently building houses which aren't fit for purpose long term, e.g. installing two solar panels on roofs that could accommodate many more. This will cost more in the long run and won't support us to meet climate emission reduction commitments.
Planning should include Biodiversity Net Gain as part of its overall ethos and principles.and bio-regional approaches which address issues such as food security, water catchments, wind strength, air quality, transport infrastructure, green spaces, plus nature conservation areas and habitat protection.
Environmental impact should be considered whatever the status of any piece of land e.g. brownfield land can include rich habitats.
In the draft National Planning Policy Framework there is repeated use of the term ‘sustainable locations’ yet there is no definition of what constitutes a sustainable location. Consideration should include sustainable materials and the provision of amenities, as well as provision for non-car transport, ensuring there are no
additional risks of flooding or climate change exacerbation, and enabling the protection of land capital to support future food security and nature’s
recovery. Sustainabilility is a multi-faceted issue, which can often be used as shorthand for "near a public transport route"..
We are worried about words such as “subject to viability” which can easily provide a loophole for developers, preventing adequate numbers of affordable homes to be built, lack of adequate access to green spaces or inadequate provision of public transport services such as new bus routes that are sustained long term.
We agree with a policy that encourages a mix of tenure types. This must include ensuring there is no ‘two tier’ arrangement whereby the ‘affordable’
homes have less access to facilities, green spaces etc. This is an equalities issue.
Equality impact assessments ,as part of development proposals, should be prepared with input from people with lived experience and related organisations that represent people with lived experience of marginalisation.
September 2024
Did you know there is a proposal by ExxonMobil for a pipeline to transport Co2 into a storage site in the English Channel? The SoCAN team have looked at it and have submitted the following response:
Response to Solent CO2 pipeline consultation from Southampton Climate Action Network (SoCAN)
We are deeply concerned that one of the main aims of the pipeline will be to facilitate production of so-called ‘blue’ hydrogen at Fawley, which in reality would be no greener than ‘grey’ hydrogen (see http://transitionsouthampton.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Mythbusting-hydrogen.pdf.)
Carbon capture and storage is inefficient and expensive and leads to increased energy consumption to power the process. The flaws in the whole concept of CCS are highlighted in the report by the Institure of Energy Economics & Financial Analysis which shows that the majority of projects hve failed or are underperforming, and the most successful ones are those which use the CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (thus worsening emissions!) https://ieefa.org/resources/carbon-capture-crux-lessons-learned
The environmental harm resulting from any of the proposed routes is unacceptable and none should be taken forward. We endorse the response from Transition Southampton https://transitionsouthampton.org/2024/09/02/our-response-to-exxons-consultation-on-solent-co2-pipeline/ which point out both the environmental damage and the inappropriateness of carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a ‘solution’ to carbon emissions.
Finally, the analysis by the Solent Protection Society https://solentprotection.org/2024/09/02/exxonmobil-pipeline-a-deeper-look/ shows that the pipeline itself is pointless in the absence of any evidence regarding both the feasibility of the carbon capture process itself and the safety and feasibility of the proposed storage location in the Solent. Money (especially taxpayer money) must be directed toward solutions which reduce emissions at source rather wasted on attempting to capture and bury (some of) them afterwards.
Spring 2024
Southampton Climate Action Network
The story so far
Spring is here, so we thought we would remind ourselves of the work we have done so far, and reflect on what we have achieved. Southampton Climate Action Network (SoCAN) came into being in 2021; a kind of organic grouping that emerged from COP26 activities. In 2023, we managed to secure some funding.
Here is a list of the activities that we have been developing:
Set up a Steering Group for SoCAN
SoCAN brings together community groups and businesses across the city - see SoCAN Members - SoCAN: Southampton Climate Action Network (sotoncan.org.uk). Our Steering Group helps steer our direction.
Embedding community development and co-production principles into all our work
The intention of working together as equals has always been our goal, and we have been using various techniques over the year to make sure we keep our members interests at the heart of all we do.
A clear purpose
We spent time refining our purpose, which is this
Southampton Climate Action Network
(SoCAN) - Working together for a
sustainable, thriving city.
We are a coalition of community groups, organisations, businesses
and individuals that promotes Southampton's work towards
becoming an environmentally sustainable and regenerative city.
Created an identity
We created a logo and brand identity, commissioned an embroidered banner and published postcards to share with people at events etc.
Our website
We developed a website including an online version of the Southampton Sustainability Directory, so people can search for sustainability activity in the city. A number of volunteers contribute towards its content. www.sotoncan.org.uk
Our social media
We set up a Facebook page to communicate climate-themed news.
Involvement in events
We have supported and attended a range of events with a climate theme. We hosted a Spring Climate Gathering on 14 March 2024 attended by about 30 people. Everybody in the room was given the opportunuity to share the news of local climate-themed events and projects. Our members have been promoting SoCAN at a range of events, including most recently at Transition Southampton gatherings, People Planet Pint Southampton , RSA Southampton and Go Southampton events.
Action research
We have progressed an action research project, receiving grant funding from our partners, University of Southampton. We have participated in and drafted a research paper on movement building and Doughnut Economics
More funding, project management, volunteer and consultancy support
We have received kind and generous support from an anonymous donor, which has enabled us to recruit a project manager. Our project manager has worked alongside a dedicated team of people who have kindly donated their time for free. We have also gained the insight of local consultants, which has enabled a holistic assessment of activities.
Progressed ideas through workshops
We have hosted three large workshops - one for our Steering committee to progress our vision and aims, a Doughnut Economics workshop for community groups, and “From Surviving to Thriving” workshop on 1 March 2024 in partnership with Southampton City Council, Univerisity of Southampton, Centre for the South and Hampshire Chamber of Commerce.
Making a film
We have commissioned a film by Paul Maple on Doughnut Economics/Community Wealth Building. The first screening is on Monday 17 June 5-7.30pm at Sir James Matthews Building in Guildhall Square. Tickets are here: Local is the new global: film premiere Tickets, Mon, Jun 17, 2024 at 5:00 PM | Eventbrite
Membership and democracy
People can join the Steering Group, sign up to the website or attend our events. During the course of the year, it was decided that SoCAN would become a project of Southampton Collective, and anyone who agrees to a series of principles can join as a "Member" in order to have democratic voting rights.To see more information and join, please see the form on this page: Membership – Co-production | Community | Culture (socollective.org.uk)
Part of Southampton Climate Commission
We have been offered roles on the Southampton Climate Commission for nominated members of SoCAN. We presentated a paper to the Commission on the Solent Cluster and hydrogen. This was adopted as a position statement by the Climate Commission: News | Southampton Climate Commission
Relationship with Southampton City Council
We are developing a relationship with Southampton City Council, e.g. by working together to deliver the “From Surviving to Thriving” workshop on 1 March 2024 with Cllr Sarah Bogle.
So, what next?
This is just the start. We look forward to developing SoCAN into the future. We are currently collecting feedback on the work of SoCAN so far, which will help inform our plans for the future.
Want to get involved? You can contact us via our website form or come along to one of our future events.
PREVIOUS BLOGS
November 2023
Reflections on a presentation to an arts organisation on 9th November 2023
I was invited to make a presentation to a local arts organisation, a space arts, about Doughnut Economics as part of a team enquiry they were doing on climate change.
I put together a series of slides from the DEAL toolkits on Doughnut Economics in order to talk to members of the team about climate change and their organisation - as part of an afternoon they had put aside for this purpose. They had previously watched Kate Raworth’s TedTalk on Doughnut Economics.
The slides started with a recap of what Doughnut Economics is founded on - the planetary boundaries and the social foundation - and how these are in overshoot. Next, to set the scene I introduced the four lenses obtained when the doughnut is rolled out. It’s a matrix of local aspirations and global responsibilities viewed through the ecological and social boundaries, which offer specific questions we can attempt to answer - as an individual, an organisation or a town or city.
To move from these lenses to a perspective on organisations and businesses and helping them find a way of doing a deep dive into their aspirations and responsibilities, I took some slides from the DEAL Doughnut Design for Business - Taster Tool: Doughnut Design for Business - Taster Tool | DEAL (doughnuteconomics.org)
I began with a slide entitled: To change the future, change the dynamics, which provides an explanation of the move from degenerative to regenerative processes.
To further explain this concept I used slides which bring in new ideas about the language we use: first of all the shift from degenerative to sustainable to regenerative.
Then we looked at the concept of divisive and distributive processes - how we can begin to move from inequality to sharing and valuing co-creation.
The next slide explained further the move from divisive to inclusive to distributive.
Then I showed a slide which gives an example of a professional services company using an activity to generate ideas about how to become more regenerative and distributive. I also showed a slide which illustrates the deep design model that we (SoCAN) are using to look at the purpose, networks, governance, ownership and finance of the network.
Subsequent feedback from the team indicates that the rest of their workshop was influenced by the presentation: “We had a good follow-on session using some of the workshop questions taken from the DEAL website just to start practising thinking and speaking in that way.”
This exploration with another organisation prompted a new appreciation (for myself) of the importance of the language we are using. Sustainability and inclusion now appear as insufficient - “regenerative” and “distributive” encapsulate the vision of a better future for us and the planet. This reframing suggests questions we can ask within SoCAN. Should we rename our Sustainability Directory, for example? Should we amend our about-to-be-printed calling card? How do we discover what being inclusive and being distributive mean for the ways that we work? How do we summarise the work we have done on the deep design of SoCAN?
The promotion of the narrative of Doughnut Economics is one of our aims as a network and the work of sharing and understanding it with a wide audience is our challenge and our responsibility. The model may not be perfect but it is “good enough”.
Liz Batten, 10.11.2023
May 2023
We are excited to announce that SoCAN has secured funding to work with researchers at the University of Southampton to develop the network and to run a series of evaluated workshops exploring Doughnut Economics.
Image: courtesy of DEAL - Doughnut Economics Action Lab
The proposed project has two research aims:
- Understand what “thriving” and “flourishing” looks like, within planetary boundaries, and how, together, we might help achieve that for the City of Southampton using the Doughnut Economics model as a starting point.
- Understand how a network for climate action in Southampton can develop and secure funding for more intensive interventions (for example including engaging membership, increasing voice, convening discussions, informing media, celebrating sustainability and future proofing the city).
The next stage of development of the SoCAN network will involve structured conversations with the membership and other interested parties about the future work of the network. This will facilitate bidding for and securing funding for paid staff and a more intensive level of intervention.
We will use the tools provided by community interest company Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL) for the workshop design, which will be run within selected communities in the City. According to DEAL “The Doughnut approach is a way to think about how a place can meet its local aspirations while also living up to its global responsibilities.” We intend to assess this information through a series of data gathering sessions by interviewing participants and collecting artefacts from the process.
Through the workshops we aim to work towards a shared vision for the future of our city, with emphasis on community resilience and creative responses to the challenges we face from climate change. This process will also help identify those groups and organisations in Southampton which may want to partner with SoCAN to take the work forward and achieve the next level of development of the network.
Upcoming Events
We currently have no new events coming up.
Past Events
Spring Climate Gathering, Thurs 14 March 2024, October Books. Details here.
From Surviving to Thriving, Friday 1 March 2024, Central Hall. Booking details.
University of Southampton's Social Impact Lab Climate Action Workshop
Wednesday 17 May 2023, 2-4pm
We presented a workshop on Doughnut Economics as part of the University of Southampton's Social Impact Lab event 'Climate Action Workshop' on Wednesday 17 May 2023 2-4pm. Further information and booking.
What alternative economic models are there for a better future?
Thursday 25 May, 7-9.30pm
October Books
With our current economic model we are continuing to see exploitation of workers and the planet and extraction of wealth to the rich. What are the alternative economic models to this? How can they work for the wellbeing of people and the planet. On the night we will hear of some of these models together with practical solutions and stories that can inspire us in making changes. We will hear from Dr Arvind Sivaramakrishnan who will outline some theories, Liz Batten (SoCAN)who will provide an introduction to Doughnut Economics, and Nathan Brown about the cooperative model of running businesses. This will be in a workshop format so we will have time to explore questions around this together. Further information and booking.
Can Doughnut Economics help future-proof Southampton?
Saturday 8 July, 10-3pm
Friends Meeting House, 1A Ordnance Road Southampton SO15 2AZ
We live in an economy based on “take, make, use, lose” and that’s not good. Doughnut Economics shows us where the ecological boundaries are, and what we need in order to thrive. We can imagine a better future where we live in a safe and just space for people and the planet - and if we can imagine it, it can happen. This free participative workshop will give you an opportunity to understand how the model works and how we can use it to create a safe and just space for humanity and the planet. Join us in this workshop to explore this new way of looking at the future. No knowledge of economics needed! Booking essential via SoCAN's Eventbrite.