Plymouth Climate Hub 2025

The Plymouth Climate Hub 2025 Collective seeks to organise creative spaces for local people to voice their concerns, share their positive solutions and find allies to inspire the changes needed for a sustainable future based upon human need, and social and economic justice. It plans to deliver:

1. Plymouth Climate Summit, March, and Community Meal in November 2025 to coincide with the UN Conference of Parties conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil.
2. A community outreach and information stall at The Plot, Union Street, for a year
3. At least 5 interactive climate action workshops with key groups in the city

Climate change has diverse impacts on local people including reducing food and energy security, housing, air and water quality and opportunities to connect with the natural world. Understanding this intersection with the work many groups in Plymouth are doing, around health, economic and social wellbeing, the Plymouth Climate Hub 2025 collective seeks to form stronger networks where we can bring a climate justice lens to amplify these issues through political action and sharing information.

Climate change already has local impacts on food production through intense and unpredictable weather events, including increased likelihood of flooding and drought. It also increases ill-health from extremes in temperatures and damp housing. We are also welcoming climate refugees displaced from regions that have become inhabitable.

The global climate emergency creates anxiety, fear, dis-empowerment, and is affecting individuals and communities. Our activities are designed to balance the hard facts with inspirational solutions and to inspire, create connections and support people coming to terms with these challenges. It is well-recognised that when humans have concerns and a sense of injustice, and are powerless to act on these, this impacts negatively on emotional well-being, raising anxiety and lowering mood. Conversely, re-engaging with one's agency and personal power can benefit our well-being while benefiting society and the planet.

We offer coordination of climate activities and solutions in the city and will spread the message that everyone can do something towards the adaptations we need. The three main activities proposed for 2025 if successful with this bid are:

1) Plymouth Climate Summit, March, and Community Meal in November 2025

The funding will resource a continuation and growth of the Climate Summit and March, held annually in the city since 2021. This year’s Climate Summit on 23rd November 2024 attracted a crowd of 150 despite stormy weather. We need to plan now for 2025 to build on the momentum created so far. The Climate Summits in Plymouth serve to educate and organise people together as a community about the various aspects of the climate emergency and social justice; working from the ground up, We aim to offer a space for the broadest diversity of voices willing to engage in this conversation, including women, people identifying as LGBTQIA+, migrants & asylum seekers, residents from minority ethnic communities, young people, trades unionists and local experienced climate activists. The event brings us all together in a spirit of togetherness, consciousness, and agency, able to have a strong voice to communicate with local authorities and agencies of power, all of which is urgently needed. The Plymouth Climate Hub 2025 collective has longstanding experience in democratic organising, events, education, wellbeing and safeguarding. We welcome new partners who can bring different perspectives and experience.

2) Climate Action Stall/Shed as part of the community at The Plot

A new feature is a small space (a shed) at The Plot to promote all climate activism in Plymouth for outreach and networking, since many sustainability, social justice and inclusion groups are already based there or visit to attend events. Similarly, members of the public who visit The Plot will have access to the climate stall and a chance for a conversation. There are many initiatives already happening in the city, but these are often isolated and unnoticed. We wish to bring these to the attention of more people and encourage involvement through signposting to existing groups. We also seek to counter disinformation about the science and impacts of climate change, increasingly being spread on social media and in print. This is being trialled in November and December 2024 but if successful funds are needed to continue through 2025.

3) Climate Action workshops

Climate Clarity is on a mission to bring accessible climate education to all segments of society. Through interactive workshops they engage and activate groups to take action in their sphere of influence. They will deliver a set of at least 5 workshops targeted at interested groups and individuals in Plymouth. The workshops lead people on a journey from apathy and misinformation to clarity and collective empowerment. Everyone has a part to play in how the future unfolds - and it starts with understanding the science and committing to take action.

Plymouth Hub for Climate Justice and Climate Action Plymouth have worked together over many years and have strong cross-membership. Both groups were users and supporters of the Plymouth Community Climate Centre when it was open in 2021 in the old Waterstones’ building in New George Street. It was here that we met and worked with Ash, Lucas and Matilde who ran the centre. Ash and Lucas are part of Climate Clarity, with Lucas being the Plymouth representative. Lucas is a member of the Plymouth Hub for Climate Justice core facilitators’ group and Climate Clarity have provided workshops previously to some local activists.

The Plymouth Hub for Climate was formed in 2019 and became the Plymouth Hub for Climate Justice in May 2023. Its aim is to coordinate and create activities to highlight the climate emergency, acting as an umbrella for climate activities in Plymouth. It is affiliated to the national climate justice network which provides shared learning with similar groups nationwide as well as locally in Plymouth. As part of the collective development, it would be pleased to offer speakers and other outreach to local groups.

Climate Action Plymouth is a grass-roots movement affiliated to Friends of the Earth. It exists to bring together people and organisations to promote positive change in this time of global climate crisis. It focuses on actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions locally and nationally to achieve true net zero by 2030.

Climate Clarity’s mission is to raise awareness and empowerment around the climate and ecological crisis using the Climate Fresk workshop, and any other tools that effectively facilitate change. They aim to use their skills in conveying accessible climate science and encouraging emotional processing of hard-hitting facts to create spaces where teams can learn together and support each other to act, going forwards.

The Plymouth Hub for Climate Justice facilitators’ group includes members of Climate Action Plymouth, Climate Clarity, Plymouth Women’s Network, Plymouth Trades Union Council, Campaign against Climate Change Trade Union Group, The Zebra Collective, Food Plymouth, and the Plymouth Climate Council.

Other key groups who have supported our events include Art and Energy, Plymouth Extinction Rebellion, Earth Cafe (particularly for the community meals at the Climate Summits), Feminist Fusion, Environment Plymouth, and Transition Plymouth.