1. Construction of the Northern Bypass requires development across an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and could cost in the region of £1 billion.[1] £8 million has been wasted on the scrapped Upper Orwell Crossings project.[2] We don't have time/money to waste on building more roads. 2. SCC’s pension committee invests in Shell[3], one of 25 entities identified by the Carbon Majors Report as responsible for 51% of all greenhouse gas emissions since climate change was officially recognised.[4] By 1988 Shell knew, or should have known, of the destabilising effects of its products[5], but nonetheless expanded, while renewables saw relatively little investment. 3. Verges must be managed to promote birds, insects and plants, which are essential components of the natural systems supporting life. There are nearly half a million kilometres of rural road verge in the UK – that's equivalent to half our remaining flower-rich grasslands and meadows [6] and is a vital refuge for bees, butterflies and birds. Improper management annihilates wildflowers and the habitat and food these areas could provide to wildlife. Testing found British rivers to be contaminated with insecticides and revealed the River Waveney on the Suffolk/Norfolk Border to be the worst polluted in the UK, exceeding the acute harm level for a month.[7] Developments which destroy remaining habitat are often being allowed. All of this contributes to a dangerous situation in which life is being wiped out. 4. The air in Suffolk is so toxic that it is breaking the law.[8] Air pollution is recognised as a contributing factor in the onset of heart disease, lung conditions and cancer.[9] Figures reveal the emergency hospital admission rate for asthmatic children in Suffolk to be higher than the national average.[10] Modelling has estimated that across Ipswich in one year air pollution was responsible for the equivalent of 63 excess deaths.[11] The annual health cost to society of the impacts of particulate matter alone throughout the UK is estimated at around £16 billion.[12] Air quality needs to be dealt with through measures in line with urgently halting emissions, such as improving public transport, enabling safe bicycle travel, introducing car-free zones and supporting facilities that reduce people's need to travel, such as local village shops. 5. The Suffolk Coast & Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is a stunning landscape including Ramsar protected wetlands, sites of special scientific interest, and the renowned Minsmere Nature Reserve which is one of the most important wildlife sites in Europe.[13] This area must remain protected. 6. Emissions need to stop urgently — so new homes should be zero/low emission. 7. Citizens’ Assemblies – representative samples of people selected at random from the population, coming together to examine evidence, challenge the experts and hear what various interest groups have to say – have been deployed to deal with controversial issues from law and order to reduced fossil fuel use. Taking the debate about our future outside a parliamentary bubble and into the community has proved successful and Citizens' Assemblies are being established throughout the UK from Scotland[14] to Lambeth Council[15]. A situation exists where for at least 10 years Ipswich has had illegal levels of pollution. Given the serious health implications of this for the people of Suffolk, particularly children and older people, a Citizen's Assembly is urgently needed here. References: 1. "Are we ready to pay the true price to build new by pass north of Ipswich?". EADT. https://www.eadt.co.uk/ea-life/ipswich-northern-by-pass-row-1-5918511. (7 March 2019) 2. "Upper Orwell Crossing: Ipswich bridge plan scrapped after £8m spent." BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-46948086. (21 January 2019) 3. "Council invests millions in fossil fuel firm despite aim to be 'greenest county'" EADT. https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/suffolk-county-council-quizzed-on-royal-dutch-shell-investment-1-5961456. (27 March 2019) 4. Carbon Majors Report 2017. CDP Worldwide. (July 2017) 5. "Shell predicted dangers of climate change in 1980s and knew fossil fuel industry was responsible" The Independent (8 April 2018) 6. “The Good Verge Guide” Plantlife. https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/our-work/publications/good-verge-guide-different-approach-managing-our-waysides-and-verges. (June 2016) 7. "Heavy Neonicotinoid Insecticide Contamination Damaging British Rivers". Buglife. https://www.buglife.org.uk/news-and-events/news/heavy-neonicotinoid-insecticide-contamination-damaging-british-rivers. (12 December 2017) 8. "East England towns and cities have illegal NO2 levels”. BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-35458600. (1 March 2016) 9. The health impacts of poor air quality. www.parliament.uk. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvfru/433/43308.htm. (15 March 2018) 10. "Campaign urges Suffolk parents to take asthma in children seriously to avoid hospital admissions". Ipswich Star. https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/campaign-urges-suffolk-parents-to-take-asthma-in-children-seriously-to-avoid-hospital-admissions-1-5397084. (16 February 2018) 11. Public Health England (2014) 12. Defra. Valuing the Overall Impacts of Air Pollution. (2010) 13. Awarded Areas in UK. Council of Europe. https://www.coe.int/en/web/bern-convention/united-kingdom. (2019) 14. "Plans underway to create new Citizens' Assembly in Scotland". The Scotsman. https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/plans-underway-to-create-new-citizens-assembly-in-scotland-1-4947736. 14 June 2019) “Citizens Assemble! Lambeth Council to empower residents to guide the response to climate emergency”. Brixton Buzz. www.brixtonbuzz.com/2019/06/citizens-assemble-lambeth-council-to-empower-residents-to-guide-the-response-to-the-climate-emergency/ (14 June 2019) Photo - Covehithe marshes © www.snthomas.co.uk

The nation, and in fact the world, is constantly being told to recycle more, yet Kirklees council makes it neigh on impossible for households to recycle as much as they possibly could. The future of the planet is at stake here and we’ll all need to try our best to ensure it’s there for future generations.

There is now a global consensus that climate change poses significant risk to our health, our economy, our environment, our biodiversity and endangers the well being of future generations. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released a vital report on the state of the world's climate. They have warned that if the planet warms by 1.5 degrees there would be some devastating consequences, such as the loss of most coral reefs, and increased extreme weather such as heatwaves and floods. But given that the planet is currently heading for a truly catastrophic 3-4 degrees warming, it requires all our elected representatives to make an urgent and radical shift to change the way our society and economy is organised. We are only too aware that Barry and the wider Vale of Glamorgan are coastal communities and as such are extremely vulnerable to sea level rises. Barry Action for Nature also fully realises that all its local conservation work by its volunteers will mean nothing if action is not taken to avert climate change. We call on all our elected representatives to put their political differences aside and to work together to achieve the change we need in order to protect people and wildlife.

Hundreds of thousands of medication blister packs currently go to landfill - they are mixed materials (plastic and foil) and therefore not recyclable with household recycling. Walkers did it with crisp packets, now it's the turn of the pharmaceutical giants to take responsibility.

For the sake of our survival, we need bigger investment and urgency from our Government for our country and our planet if we are to make any real difference of avoiding a climate catastrophe. We need 1.5 billion trees to be planted by 2030. 2050 is too late. And any less is inadequate to this widespread huge humanitarian, environmental and climate crisis we all face together. The current and intentionally man-made destruction of the Amazon rainforest, makes this all the more urgent.

The British Museum and The Royal Opera House are sponsored by the climate-wrecking oil giant BP. The arts are supposed to help us understand and explore important issues like climate change. Instead, these institutions are promoting a company that is making the problem worse. BP is one of the companies most responsible for the climate crisis. It is the 11th biggest corporate source of greenhouse emissions in history. 97% of BP’s business is still in oil and gas extraction, with just 3% of its investments going into renewables. The company spends tens of millions every year lobbying to stop new climate laws and slow down the growth of cleaner energy, and plans to invest £41 billion into new oil projects over the next 10 years. While BP rakes in huge profits, people around the world – especially those least responsible for the crisis in the Global South – are being hit by devastating droughts, floods and storms. BP also has close relationships with repressive governments around the world, who crack down hard on opposition to the company’s operations. By signing a sponsorship deal with BP, these big arts institutions are helping the oil company get away with this behaviour, giving it a mask of respectability to hide its true actions. It’s time for the arts to stop promoting Big Oil. Learn more and get involved in the campaign: Behindthelogos.org bp-or-not-bp.org artnotoil.org.uk More information Under the current deal, the British Museum puts on a major BP-branded exhibition every year; the National Portrait Gallery holds the globally-famous BP Portrait Awards; the Royal Opera House holds “BP Big Screens” in public squares around the country; and the Royal Shakespeare Company has put BP branding on its discount tickets for 16-25 year olds (although - two major campaign victories! - on October 4th 2019 the RSC announced it was ending its BP sponsorship, and on February 22nd 2022 the National Portrait Gallery also announced the end of its partnership with BP, and so we have removed the RSC and NPG from this petition). These institutions only receive between 0.5% and 1.3% of their annual income from BP. In return, the oil company gets to cover up its real activities and present itself as a normal and respectable part of society, rather than a company that is actively worsening the climate crisis. BP also gets to host swanky events at the venues it sponsors, giving it networking opportunities and helping it to make new business deals. Communities in Argentina, West Papua, Mexico, and Azerbaijan – to name but a few – have faced violence and imprisonment for standing up against BP’s extraction, pollution and corruption. BP continues to work closely with human rights-abusing regimes to gain access to their oil and gas, including jointly sponsoring exhibitions with the Egyptian and Russian governments at the British Museum.

The Cumbria Wildlife Trust explains these sites have considerable nature conservation value in natural heritage for habitats and species of national importance. The LDNPA played a role when the CWS panel established the selection guidelines and will possess the landowner's leaflet! NB - Other associated plans went before the LDNPA this August, both including resurfacing: 7/2019/2165 and 7/2019/2188, and 7/2019/2190, a major tarmac plan. There were 26 letters of objection to 19/2165 including Keswick Town Council's. Compare with 7/2019/2178 announced on 23/8/19: terrestrial and aquatic species, European Protected Species -that need a licence - and the laws covering them! Biosecurity measures. The contrast is incredible, by the same authority! They are seriously threatened. You can make your views known on [email protected] quoting planning ref. nos. The laying of tarmac or any hard surface means it will literally be a case of life or death. Associated plan ref. 7/2019/2017 admits wildlife could be injured or killed! Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Forestry Act 1967 and Charter for Trees 2017 - over 1,300 lost, red squirrel woodland, more to follow as the project advances, another 74 in 2189,. The photograph shows the countryside where the railway path is hidden in the deep Greta gorge indicated by the line of trees crossing from east to west, just discernible! Keswick is not far to the west. Study 7/2019/2189 and gasp at the actual process of path 'construction' along this 4-mile length! On Wed., 2/10/19 Keswick Town Council is meeting the LDNPA, originally to discuss tarmac proposals, but CEO Richard Leafe has told them that instead, LDNPA intends to tell them how it will be done! See below for the Sandford Principle. We consider they consider they are contravening their legal environment remit ie it is illegal, and without justification. The footpath lies at the bottom of the deep, steep-sided narrow gorge of the River Greta, for miles barely discernible from the A66 above, and tributary to the Derwent catchment area part of the National Trust's Riverlands project that could be compromised. Embodied in the 1995 Environment Act, ie law, their duty under the Sandford Principle is to give priority to the environment where there is a conflict with public interest. This is what they say they will do on their Unesco nomination form. As an optional 4-5 mile section of the long Coast 2 Coast (C2C) route only since the 1990s, cyclists' interests should not take priority over other users .This is not a road, but primarily a decades-old footpath where cyclists are allowed and not vice versa and aren't cyclists a type of traffic? Resurfacing plans now give them priority, cycle track standard. Isn't this dangerous on a Multiuser Trail with increased accident risk? The LDNPA also has a duty to honour their commitment to the 2 Partnerships of which they are a member: the Cumbria wildlife Sites and the Derwent and South West Catchment Area. The John Muir Trust has a 'Keep it wild' policy that would equally apply here! Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers addressed the recent UK National Parks Conference by video link, saying that at the core of government policy is "nature recovery and protecting biodiversity" - a LDNPA delegate would have been there. The UK is already one of the most nature-depleted countries, hence the Government's 25-year Environment Plan and 'biodiversity net gain' - it can only lose with these plans. Nor do they comply with their NP second role of helping mitigate climate change, very high priority now, from government, the Cumbria County and Keswick Town Councils. 2 years of vehicle and machinery movement in that confined space and outside Keswick, plus tarmac fumes in the gorge and from Keswick station itself passing through residential areas.

In 2016, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimated that by weight, there could be more plastic in our oceans than fish, as soon as 2050. Plastics are durable, strong and long-lasting – all positive elements until you realise that they will stay in our environment for up to an estimated 600 years. (Columbia University) Over 300 million tons of new plastic are made every year – half of which is for single use plastic, such as packaging and convenience foods. In many cases, such as plastic straws, takeaway food containers and coffee cups, there are practical alternatives available that are either reusable or sustainable. It is estimated that there are over 5.5 trillion pieces of plastic currently in our global ocean and over 8 million tons of plastic are dumped into our seas each year. This equates to one refuse truck FULL of plastic every minute. Marine plastic leads to coastal / offshore dead zones, entanglement, death through ingestion, toxic transfer and, once degraded into microplastics, contamination of the food chain – including our own. We are quite literally eating the plastic that has ended up in our seas. Sign this petition so we can persuade the council to act on the issue of single-use plastic waste. *Image credit Ed Fordham taken at Chesterfield Borough Council, June 2019

We have less than 11 years to take urgent action to limit global warming to 1.5°C or we risk catastrophic and irreversible runaway climate change; this was the stark warning from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report Global Warming of 1.5°C. Humans have already caused approximately 1.0°C of warming, the devastating impacts of which have been seen around the world in the form of reduction of sea-ice in the Arctic, loss of coral reefs and extreme weather events. Warming greater than 1.5°C will result in grave consequences for our local and global environment. Rising sea levels and uninhabitable areas will displace millions of people worldwide. Shifting weather patterns, heightened risks of extreme weather events such as floods and droughts and the demise of insect species will result in global famine, water shortages and soil infertility. But it’s not too late. The IPCC report says that limiting Global Warming to 1.5°C may still be possible - but it will require ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector and local communities.

Trecadwgan is a historic place, dating back to the 15th century with links to a Welsh Prince named Cadwgan. It is in an ideal place for a community run farm based on the principles of Food Sovreignty, Agroecology and Biodynamic Agriculture. The is an opportunity to create something wonderful for generations to come if the county council are prepared to work with us and cancel the auction.

Surrey Health Borough Council is planning to dispose of more than 20% of the land at the London Road Recreation Ground, Grand Avenue, Camberley to use as a car park for the redevelopment of the Arena Leisure Centre. This is a significant reduction in open, green recreation space available to the local residents in an area that already has a minimum of such areas. This disposal of land will greatly affect the functionality of the recreation ground, the available space for residents to enjoy green open spaces and cause the loss of a significant environmental habitat for plants and animals.

On May 31st 2019 the Sheffield Star published a letter with a bold headline saying "Man-made climate change is a myth". The contents of this letter have been thoroughly debunked in this article. http://www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/news/climate-change-deniers-haul-out-a-daft-conspiracy-theory-about-attenboroughs-new-programme/ Not only did the Star print the climate deniers letter without checking it was factually correct, but they also chose to give it "Star letter" treatment and print a headline that is entirely opposed to scientific fact. The Star must stop misinforming the public and start to educate them about the massive issue of climate and ecological catastrophe. Unless the public understands the dire consequences of continuing "business as usual", it will be impossible for the Government to implement the emergency measures required to prevent mass extinction. Newspapers that actively oppose the measures required to stop climate and ecological catastrophe will be complicit in both genocide and ecocide. The science is clear: It is understood that we are facing an unprecedented global emergency. We are in a life or death situation of our own making. We must act now. “We are in a planetary emergency” Prof. James Hansen, former Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies “Climate change is a medical emergency…It thus demands an emergency response…” Prof. Hugh Montgomery, director of the University College London Institute for Human Health and Performance, Lancet Commission Co-Chair “This is an emergency and for emergency situations, we need emergency action.” – Ban Ki-Moon, former UN Secretary-General “Act now to save our planet and our future from the climate emergency.” Antonio Guterres UN Secretary-General At the end of 2018, the UN Secretary-General warned us: "Humanity and life on Earth now face a ‘direct existential threat’ The world must act swiftly and robustly to keep global warming under 1.5°C and try to avoid utterly catastrophic impacts to life on Earth. Human activity is causing irreparable harm to life on this world. A mass extinction event, only the sixth in roughly 540 million years, is underway. Many current life forms could be annihilated or at least committed to extinction by the end of this century." The air we breathe, the water we drink, the earth we plant in, the food we eat, and the beauty and diversity of nature that nourishes our psychological well-being, all are being corrupted and compromised by the political and economic systems that promote and support our modern, consumer-focused lifestyles. We must act while we still can. What we are seeing now is nothing compared to what could come. Effects on global human society, if the climate and ecological emergency are not addressed, may spiral out of control. Sea level rise Desertification Wildfires Water shortage Crop failure Extreme weather Millions displaced Disease Increased risk of wars and conflicts But our leaders are failing in their duty to act on our behalf. Our current systems of governance are compromised by a focus on profits and economic growth. Politicians can be influenced by lobbies of powerful corporations and the media are hampered by the vested interest of corporate advertisers undermining our democratic values. We have run out of the luxury of time to react incrementally. We must radically and immediately begin reducing emissions and improving carbon absorption, drawing it down and locking it up again. Only a peaceful planet-wide mobilisation of the scale of World War II will give us a chance to avoid the worst-case scenarios and restore a safe climate The task before us is daunting but big changes have happened before. Let’s make a better world. (Thanks to Extinction Rebellion for this text)