Regional Campaign Ideas

Submitted thoughts on local campaign areas

Didcot power station

What is your potential campaign area?

A campaign to permanently close Didcot Power station.

What would a success wiithin this campaign area be?

The Power Station is due to be closed in 2015. However, the Conservatives are very likely to extend the lifespan of many coal-fired power station as a means to address the “energy gap”. A possible win would be prevent this lifespan extension from taking place.

What kind of emissions reductions could be reached as a result of this campaign?

Coal is the dirtiest of all fossil fuels, and globally it is the largest contributor to Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Didcot itself is one the UK’s largest coal fired power stations, emitting over 60 million tonnes of CO2 every year. However, it is difficult to the see the purpose, or the likelihood, of one power station closing down alone. It would have to be part of an UK-wide integrated policy.

What level of media impact could we hope to achieve?

Didcot already has a prolific reputation, having been the site of two high profile actions in the past decade. Greenpeace did an action there in 2006, and then grassroots from across the UK activists did a much better action in October 2009.

This gives potentially good local group to build on. Both previous actions received extensive regional press, and also some varied national press (even appearing in The Sun).

What makes this campaign local?

It certainly is very known to the local population, as it is quite hard to miss. However, there are few local issues that can be tied into the struggle. The worse localised affects of coal arguably take place in the mining process, both here and around the world. There’s certainly no coal mines near Oxford!

While there is research that proves the particulates coal fired power stations pump into the air are potentially a health hazard, this is not something on the public consciousness. In other words, awareness and anger would have to be built from scratch.

The only other angle is how ‘ugly’ it looks. However, having been there since 1968, people are quite affectionate towards it.

How could this fit into a community engagement strategy?

Npower already has their own very well resourced community engagement strategy. They are sponsors of the local football team, and regularly support local community projects and initiatives. They run education programmes for schoolchildren, giving tours around the facility.

There was, however, a community led campaign against the facility over their plans to dump tonnes of ash in local beauty spot, Radley Lakes. This was a positive example of the local community working together with grassroots environmentalists. The good news is that this campaign was successful and the lakes were saved. Npower’s decision not to push on with the plans to fill the lakes has since put them in a positive posiiton, however. They had a bit of a PR brainwave in forming a partnership with local environmental charity, the Northmoor Trust, to maintain protection of the lakes.

Coal power is a problematic issue when it comes to community engagement. Didcot itself is a one of poorer areas of Oxfordshire, and so we run the risk of appearing to be “those Oxbridge EcoToffs coming here telling us what to do”. When the last Didcot action took place, locals wrote anger-fuelled letters to the press seizing on the fact their were Oxford Students on the action. We have to consider that in light of current economic circumstances, attempts to close down a local iconic employer that produces the cheapest source of electricity is perhaps not the best way to endear ourselves to the residents of Didcot.

Does this campaign link up with anything happening on a national level?

Yes, and globally. Coal production is a global process, with over 70% of the coal the UK burns coming from overseas.

Some of the most impressive climate campaigns and actions around the world have been centred around coal, and it would be a great opportunity to link up with this.

There are also ongoing UK campaigns focused around mining side of the process. Notable examples include Mainshill in Scotland, Ffos-y-fran in Wales, and Huntingdon in England.

Are there any links to other struggles to be found within this campaign area?

Potentially loads (human rights abuses abroad, struggles against open cast, etc). However, one positive struggle could be the fight for locally owned windfarms in the Oxfordshire area. One such farm opened recently, after much local opposition dragging the process on for many years.

What makes this campaign relevant now?

With a new government, and much talk about an “energy gap” to fill, as well as an “economy to rescue”, now is a crucial time to make big decisions about the future of the UK’s energy infrastructure. As ever, but especially due to the recession, coal will be an attractive option due to how cheap it is.

There is also a big danger that we lose momentum with coal, because of the success we’ve had with Kingsnorth and new coal (and the fact we activists get bored easily). However, firstly old coal is just as important with extension plans on the horizontal. Secondly, new coal is only temporally of the agenda (Kingsnorth success was largely in part to economic conditions) so maintaining a continued anti-coal movement is vital.

Why is TVCA the group that should be taking this campaign on?

It scores very high on the radicalometre. We are not taking a carbon source that serves as an ‘additional extra’ to our society. We are taking on the our basic energy infrastructure. This presents a great opportunity to talk about radical alternatives, based on different scales and economics.

Regional aviation (London Oxford Airport)

What is your potential campaign area?

Regional Aviation Expansion. Despite victory in indefinitely delaying any progress on constructing a third runway at Heathrow Airport, and the most likely new government’s commitment to it not going ahead, regional aviation expansion is on the horizon. With applications for runway expansion beginning to come in from regional airports around the country (London City, Birmingham and Manchester) we are looking at a growing issue. Currently 1.6% of total U.K. carbon emissions come from flights, and this is predicted to rise by 50% by 2030 (if fuel efficiency has increased by 50% at that point). With economic trends moving away from national airports- a significant proportion of this will come from regional airports.

What would a success within this campaign area be?

The airport itself does not run any airlines, it services companies that do. A successful and sustained campaign of disruption and outreach could not only be part of rendering flight socially unacceptable, but directly deter airlines from using the airport. An argument against how effective this could be is that airlines would simply re-locate, but as regional aviation is an up and coming issue, with groups forming in different localities at a rapid rate, we are looking at joining in a national network of localised action that forces airlines into an impossible corner.

What kind of emissions reductions could be reached as a result of this campaign?

There are over 36,000 flight movements to and from Oxford London Airport alone every single year. They are currently operating at less than 25% legally allowed capacity and have imminent plans to increase the density of their flight schedule. They have recently accepted several contracts from airlines to use the facility regularly. This is only part of the picture, as Oxford London airport is one of dozens of regional airports that operate all over the U.K. The stakes are high.

What level of media impact could we hope to achieve?

The targeting of national airports in recent years has met with unprecedented media success for direct action against Climate Change in this country. They are sensational and politically sensitive places that naturally attract publicity (think Climate Camp Heathrow and the Stanstead runway action). Action against local airports thus far has not generated much national media attention, but consistently receives high levels of local media attention, and is picked up readily by industry news networks. With a new government white paper due on aviation due for publication in 2011, and with good odds on containing unpleasant economic strategies on the benefits of regional as opposed to centralised aviation expansion, it looks to be a hot topic.

The downside of this kind of attention was seen at the 2007 Camp for Climate Action at Heathrow, when climate activists began to be routinely referred to as terrorists.

What makes this campaign local?

Oxford City houses a regional airport of its very own, located near Kidlington. As a small city we will be disproportionally effected by active expansion, and the abuse of the area as an aviation link.

How could this fit into a community engagement strategy?

There is no local community group that is active against the airport at this point, but plans for expansion could change that. Community campaigning groups are active against many regional airports across the country due to a lot of anger about noise, invasive construction, destruction of the local environment and air pollution.

Does this campaign link up with anything happening on a national level?

Grassroots groups all over the country have begun to act against expansion in their local area. Regional aviation expansion is set to become a national level economic strategy permitted and endorsed by the government, in place of plans for the expansion of large airports.

Are there any links to other struggles to be found within this campaign area?

As mentioned above, there are increasing numbers of local groups that do not come from a direct action angle tackling aviation as a local issue.

What makes this campaign relevant now?

Airports are already responsible for unacceptable levels of emissions in the U.K.- This is without taking into account the emissions of incoming flights. 2011 will see a new strategy for aviation expansion implemented in this country, with plans for regional aviation expansion leading the way. If we act now, we may be able to prevent this- just as the national campaign against New Coal has seen two international energies companies pull out of their plans for new facilities in the U.K.

With the current economic climate causing individuals great financial distress, resentment of excess has never been more. Oxford airport mainly caters for private and business flights, which could incite powerful public anger should this be exposed.

Why is TVCA the group that should be taking this campaign on?

There is currently no other group that is targeting Oxford London airport- or aviation in this region more generally. There is currently very little public discourse on the immense economic inequity that access to this kind of luxury facility represents. There are many community groups that campaign against local airports around the country, but without the radical direct action experience that this group has. TVCA is capable of bringing radical discourse and radical action to the fore of this local issue.

Transportation of Nuclear Weapons

What is your potential campaign area?

Nuclear Weapons

The potential damage to the environment – all sentient beings – if a nuclear weapon were every to be used with intent or accidentally would be horrendous. In the meantime the convoys of warheads designed and manufactured at AWE Aldermaston from Burfield to Coulport or to Brize Norton Air Field, are a threat to Oxfordshire. In particular about six times a year the convoy travels up the A34 passing through Oxford. The MoD admit that if there were to be a pile up there could be an escape of radiation effecting up to 5 million people !

What would a success within this campaign area be?

Raising the issue in this area, particularly along the path of the convoys and at Westminster.
N.B. latest poll 18-24 year olds 68% don’t want nukes so we are really getting there though not in Westminster.

With local knowledge from local CND people and other sources we could expect quite dramatic demo’s could be effected using mockups etc.

What kind of emissions reductions could be reached as a result of this campaign?

Reduction in the risk of the emissions of radioactivity – best of all get rid of the lot world wide.

What level of media impact could we hope to achieve?

There are lots of people who could contribute with contacts and information.

Locally the issue of convoys being more widely known could have a real impact. The Councils need a lot of work. Nuclear Free and Mayors for Peace etc

What makes this campaign local?

see above

How could this fit into a community engagement strategy?

Those who live nearer the A34 could be engaged and their concern developed.

TVCA has recently expressed a real desire to build more community links, detail how this campaign could.

This would be an opportunity to engage both with those living on the root but also with those who have campaigned on this topic for years and would wish to contribute in any way that was helpful. We are community too !

Local Incinerators

What is your potential campaign area?

Plans to build new incinerators in the Oxfordshire area to meet an EU directive to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

What would a success within this campaign area be?

A cancellation of current plans to expand incineration in Oxfordshire and a firm committment on the part of the County Council to reject further incinerator plans.

The currernt status of the Ardley incinerator is that the company behind the plans is appealing the council’s rejection of them in July this year. A scheme to build another facility near Sutton Courtenay appears dead in the water after the initial rejection. With some pressure, it seems likely that the plans will again be refused.

What kind of emissions reductions could be reached as a result of this
campaign?

At the moment, electricity from incineration is somewhere between gas & coal in terms of GHG emissions. This is set to change by 2020, when advances in gas and coal generation will mean that waste incineration will have 95% of the emissions of coal.

Incineration is still a hell of a lot better than landfill in terms of emissions from waste (landfill generates a lot of methane) but is no substitute for reduction, re-use and recycling. Yo.

What level of media impact could we hope to achieve?

Nationally, incinerator campaigns seem to have dropped off the map completely. It’s more likely that as TVCA we would be bringing attention to the campaign than drawing any from it.

Regionally, however, anti-incinerator protests seem to have captured media and political interest; P&P and FoE have both gained excellent local
coverage for their work on waste incineration. The Oxford Mail in particular seems to be very interested in the campaign.

What makes this campaign local?

Whilst there don’t seem to be any incinerators in Oxon yet, the proposed sites are/were very close by.

How could this fit into a community engagement strategy?

There are active (or at least formerly-active) local groups against the incinerator plans, which we could certainly skill-share and exchange ideas with.

Does this campaign link up with anything happening on a national level?

Not really…

Are there any links to other struggles to be found within this campaign area?

What makes this campaign relevant now?

The appeal in June

Why is TVCA the group that should be taking this campaign on?

Because there’s a lot of room for more radicalism in the campaign, and because it could help our Community Engagement strategy to work closely with groups that are probably a little without focus at the moment and certainly will be soon!)

 
owen
2010-05-17

I don’t generally like to be critical without being constructive about it, but they all look like single-issue campaigns without much relevance to most people’s everyday lives.

Have we lost sight of one of the principles mentioned at the Regional Gathering: aiming to overthrow the system which causes climate change instead of just addressing the symptom (climate change)?

I know we don’t all agree on that principle, but enough people mentioned it that you’d think it would be reflected in our actions. Instead we just go back to single-issue stuff cos it’s what we know best.
 
 
penguin
2010-05-22

Owen’s point is well made but, whilst I personally agree with aiming to overthrow the system that causes climate change (and other ‘bad stuff’), I find it impossible to think how to do this without basically doing single issue campaigns. I think the key might be to link up the single issue campaigns into an overall analysis that challenges the system. This can be done by:

  1. Doing many single issue campaigns and drawing out the links (e.g. drawing links between tar sands oil and aviation).
  2. Expanding the campaign issue beyond climate change (e.g. linking who can afford to fly with wage differentials).

I suppose what I’m trying (badly) to say is that I think overthrowing the system is a ‘lens’ to view and link different campaigns, not a campaign in it’s own right. If we try and make it into a campaign in it’s own right I fear we will fall into the trap experienced by many radical left groups – being all talk and no action.

I don’t think we have lost sight of the overthrow principle, it’s more that the system to overthrow is so vast and complex (and we are so small in some ways) that we might just have to target it bit by bit.
 
 
owen
2010-05-24

Definitely agree that overthrowing the system is a overarching perspective which affects how and why we campaign, rather than a campaign in itself.

I think single-issue campaigns are useful, not because we can somehow overthrow the system by targeting it bit-by-bit (I don’t think we can) but because they have the potential to radicalise and empower enough people to the point where it becomes possible to fight against the system itself. Not to mention the small concrete improvements that we win on the way.

But unless single-issue campaigns are done with an explicit awareness that the whole system itself is the problem, you can end up perpetuating the idea that ‘if we just fix these few issues, the system’s basically OK’. While winning a few very specific victories here and there, you make the system as a whole stronger.

I didn’t feel that either the campaigns (or the questions) were drafted with that in mind. Perhaps in the list of questions we should have included something like:

‘What potential does this campaign have to get people to question the way in which our society itself is organised?’

‘What potential does this campaign have to leave people feeling more empowered to start to take back control over their everyday lives?’

For me personally these are some of the most important questions.
 
 
penguin
2010-05-25

Perhaps in the list of questions we should have included something like:
‘What potential does this campaign have to get people to question the way in which our society itself is organised?’
‘What potential does this campaign have to leave people feeling more empowered to start to take back control over their everyday lives?’

Agree. Seeing as we haven’t chosen a local campaign yet, or come up with a process for doing so, perhaps it’s not too late to ask these questions?
 
   
c
2010-05-31

The question of “how much could this radicalise people” (OWTTE) certainly came up when we talked about these ideas the other week. We mentioned two separate aspects of radicalisation:

  • How much could this camapaign get people to become more involved with TVCA (and hence become more radical by association :D )?
  • How much does this campaign draw out the “root causes” of climate change?

Apologies that this didn’t come across in the original write-up; it’s definitely an important consideration. Incinerators, for instance, have a large potential to get people along to meetings etc. as the campaign could naturally lull in July, and people might be keen to find something else to campaign on. On the other hand, it’s difficult to get the messaging right in an anti-incinerator campaign: some at the meeting on the 10th thought it could be difficult to push “broken system” rather than “not in my backyard”.