Our Seasonal Newsletter: A recap of our recent activities

Welcome to our seasonal newsletter - a brief overview of what we’ve been up to lately!

It’s been a bustling time as usual and thanks to your support and participation we are inching closer to reaching our goals! Let’s walk through some of our recent highlights and share a few opportunities to get involved.

Building and Strengthening Community

As the climate crisis becomes ever more serious, our work to address it becomes ever more important. A huge part of our work involves supporting grassroots activism and over the years we’ve been proud to support existing groups across the country. We've also helped bring people together to help establish new groups too.

In October we launched Act Local, our new campaign which aims to empower, connect and skill-up local activists and communities to advocate for ambitious climate action from decision-makers. We recently fundraised for media training which we will be running in the new year - thank you to all who donated towards that! You can read more about this campaign and sign up to join here on our website.

Since its launch in April, Cuppa for Climate has been bringing people together in their communities all across Ireland; from work canteens to community centres. It’s a great way to help fundraise to keep our work going while having meaningful climate conversations to ignite effective action. Read more about Cuppa for Climate gatherings, including our Culture Night event, and be inspired to host your own here on our website. 

We are so lucky to have so many local climate action groups as part of our wider community. Here’s some highlights on all the great work they are doing:

• Environmental activists from Fingal One Future Group continue opposing data centres. Dún Laoghaire One Future has been actively advocating for solar schools and successfully urging the council to endorse a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. In Connaught, One Future groups have been conducting meetings with local TDs to garner support for the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss. 
• Young Friends of the Earth hosted a summer camp and collaborated with other organisations at Electric Picnic events while Dublin Friends of the Earth continue with their online and in-person events, highlighting different topics and local Irish organisations who are doing their bit for the environment.
• BOLD Climate Action have been working with us on a Dialogue and Action series with the aim to identify and prioritise key climate change issues. Read supporters' plea to the Government to think about energy poverty here.

Holding Decision Makers to Account

The journey towards a fossil free Ireland is still ongoing, and we recognise that there's a long road ahead. However, this doesn't diminish the significant victories we've achieved. 

• After a decade-long grassroots campaign, Shannon LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) planning was finally rejected on September 15th. This rejection is a momentous win for Friends of the Earth and the grassroots groups who have led this campaign. You can read more about it on our website. 
• To keep the momentum going, Friends of the Earth organised a photo demonstration on September 17th on Sandymount Strand as part of the Global Day of Action to End Fossil Fuels. Read more about it here. 

• Earlier that week, Friends of the Earth and many of our supporters also joined the Global Climate Strike with Fridays for Future. It was great to see so many people coming together and braving the weather for our environment!

Thank you to all our supporters who joined us and supported a fossil free Ireland!

After our release of Left Out in the Cold as part of our work on Warm Homes for All, we have continued stressing the issue of energy poverty through media presence and various actions, such as our pre-budget e-action. Budget 2024 resulted in a mixed reception, with some solid steps forward but needing more opportunities. For a deeper analysis, you can read about it on our website. If you want to learn more on the topic of Energy Poverty, check out our recent webinar. 

The Sick of Plastic campaign which we work on with VOICE Ireland has been making progress and we’re so thrilled to share news that a Deposit Return Scheme has been officially launched in Ireland, set to be rolled out by February 1st next year. Thanks to all of you who joined and supported Sick of Plastic to make this demand a reality!

September also marked the release of our Annual report Card, where we asked independent experts to grade the Government on their delivery of their own commitments on climate and the environment. Read more about that here.

Acts of Solidarity

Recognising that environmental and social justice crises stem from common root causes, both locally and globally, Friends of the Earth is committed to actively engaging with and raising awareness of crucial issues. Here’s some recent Acts of Solidarity from our team:

• We joined Refugee Day on June 20th at the Garden of Remembrance, showing solidarity with asylum seekers in Ireland. 

• In October, we participated in the Cost Of Living march, advocating for the Government to prioritise heating our homes over harming our planet and amplifying voices in the fight against energy poverty in preparation for Budget 2024.
• Palestine continues to be on our minds. We've been reflecting on the catastrophe and the need for solidarity action in our blog here. We’ve also signed an open letter urging Irish Government leaders to take action against governments aiding the Israeli government in committing war crimes and violating international law. We've also supported a vigil organised by activist group Dublin Ecofeminists.

Thanks to all who showed up at these events.

Join Our Big Christmas Event!

On December 9th we’ll be taking to the streets, but this time it’ll be a little different to our usual protests and demonstrations. We’ll be leading a climate choir to sing festive songs with a climate action twist to bring climate action to Christmas shoppers in Dublin. If you'd like to join our choir, sign up here and learn the songs at our upcoming rehearsals.

If you can’t make the rehearsal or don’t want to join the choir but would like to be part of this event with us, come along with your friends and family and support from the audience!

Building and Strengthening Our Team

Over the past few years, our team has consistently expanded and developed, enhancing our combined skills and expertise. Your continued financial support has enabled us to recruit two new team members since May.

Aaron Downey, our new Global Citizenship Education and Activism Support Officer, has joined the Movement Building team.  Ruth Jedidja Stael joined as our new Supporter Care and Fundraising Officer. This week David Rossiter has joined our team as our new Fossil Fuel Campaigner and we are currently recruiting for two other roles too. By the end of the year we expect to be a team of 19!

On behalf of all of us, we want to thank you for your support in enabling us to grow in our power and continue our essential work for a just world where people and nature thrive.

Catch up and read more!

If you missed any of our Learning Hub webinars, you can watch the recordings back here. And for more details on our work and impact this past year you can read our Impact Report here.

The Friends of the Earth community is what makes Friends of the Earth. Be it those of you who chip in financially when you can, those of you who take action when we call upon you for support, or those who are connected to us through activist groups and local campaigns. Our work is not possible without you and your financial support. Thank you for being part of this community and thank you for all that you do. We cannot do this without you! 

If you want to stay up to date on all we do, join our mailing list here!