Extinction Rebellion Exeter hosts an evening of climate-themed poetry, music and readings.
CLIMATE ACTION HUB
SATURDAY 4 MARCH 2023
Climate Fresk
An interactive workshop explaining the science behind climate change.
CLIMATE ACTION HUB
FRIDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2023
The Oil Machine
A free film screening and panel discussion with Dr James Dyke
CLIMATE ACTION HUB
TUESDAY 10 JANUARY 2023
Extinction Rebellion 100 days campaign
Exeter event is first step towards April gathering of 100,000 people in Parliament Square.
CLIMATE ACTION HUB
ANALYSIS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Exeter City Futures falsely claims development fund documents disclosed under FOI legislation
Senior council director puts company on collision course with Information Commissioner's Office as significant governance failings emerge after councillors and public kept in dark over Liveable Exeter financing scheme proposals.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Climate Action Hub opens in Exeter city centre
A dedicated climate crisis information and resource centre is opening on 25 November in an empty Princesshay retail unit to provide events, meeting space, film screenings and drop-in advice and support.
SUNDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2022
Greenpeace town hall
Greenpeace Exeter is screening a short film and hosting a discussion on the cost of living and climate crises.
EXETER COMMUNITY CENTRE
GALLERY ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Kidical Mass returns to Exeter's streets
Hundreds of people took part in Exeter's third Kidical Mass family bike ride on Saturday as part of a global campaign for safe cycling routes for children, young people and families.
COMMENT ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
World car free day ignored in Exeter as Extinction Rebellion challenges council climate inaction
Protestors gathered outside council offices as CEO Karime Hassan posed for photo with construction company development manager at Princesshay promotion.
ANALYSIS ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Bus back better? Exeter services expected to remain unfit for purpose without needed changes
Government underfunding and bus sector challenges limit scope for improvement but county council failure to upgrade routes and policy ambitions plus high housing costs make Exeter difficulties acute, undermining net zero aspirations.
COMMENT ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
University emissions study confirms Net Zero Exeter plan redundancy
Council retains Exeter City Futures' services despite history of delivery failures and lack of capacity to support defined decarbonisation targets.
COMMENT ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Net Zero Exeter accountability under scrutiny
Exeter City Council's response to the climate crisis has so far been characterised by numerous failings. Unfortunately its attitude towards accountability for its actions in this area is also cause for concern.
ANALYSIS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Exeter greenhouse gas report disregards hundreds of thousands of tonnes of annual city emissions
Restricted scope of study misrepresents scale of city's impact to produce partial decarbonisation targets while ignoring opportunities to reduce emissions imported by residents, businesses and visitors, guaranteeing net zero failure.
GALLERY ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Kidical Mass Exeter: "The best day ever"
300 people took part in the first Kidical Mass Exeter family bike ride on Sunday 15 May as part of a global campaign for safe cycling routes for children, young people and families.
ANALYSIS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Do Exeter Labour election campaign claims stand up to scrutiny? Part III: Climate & environment
The third in our 2022 local elections series examines Exeter Labour claims about climate crisis leadership, renewable energy, recycling, retrofitting and development standards as well as decisions to scrap council and city decarbonisation goals.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Exeter City Council abandons city 2030 decarbonisation "ambition"
Unannounced decision to exclude scope 3 emissions constituting around 43% of Exeter's carbon footprint from "net zero" plans effectively ensures city will not meet its decarbonisation goals.
WEDNESDAY 27 APRIL 2022
Climate Science and Creativity
Quay Words' spring writer-in-residence Ellen Wiles hosts a discussion between Devon writers and scientists about the ways they address the climate crisis in their work.
EXETER CUSTOM HOUSE
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
We heart climate crisis
Anyone who might have been tempted to believe that the climate crisis is at the heart of everything Exeter City Council does (as it repeatedly claims) need look no further than its response to the consultation on the Devon climate assembly’s output report for clarification...
ANALYSIS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Decision to send council CEO and director to work for Exeter City Futures is "disservice to citizens"
City council disregards governance, risk and conflict of interest issues despite cross-party challenges and conflates decarbonisation agenda with property development financing scheme.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Exeter decarbonisation plans found wanting in nationwide council climate action plan study
Somerset West and Taunton highest scoring local authority area with East Devon in third place nationally in comprehensive Climate Emergency UK analysis.
ANALYSIS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
County council doubles down on pension fund divestment position
Devon Pension Fund remains committed to fossil fuel investment despite increasingly untenable pension fund committee position that relies on unfounded shareholder influence claims and failure to understand sector position and plans.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
COP-EXE event showcases local responses to global climate crisis
Exeter city centre venues host exhibitions promoting local action to mitigate the climate crisis in tandem with the COP26 conference in Glasgow.
COMMENT ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
If you think electric vehicles are the answer, you're asking the wrong question
Mike Walton of Exeter Cycling Campaign says we shouldn't be seduced by the motoring lobby into believing that electric cars can create the future we and our children need.
ANALYSIS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Greens call for evidence-based Exeter carbon budget as city council clings to net zero rhetoric
The Net Zero Exeter plan lacks baseline emissions figures, recognised scope definitions and measurement and reporting frameworks, placing the city's decarbonisation agenda at risk. The opportunity for Exeter to demonstrate genuine climate crisis leadership nevertheless remains.
GALLERY ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Exeter activists criticise corporate climate crisis claims with city centre bus shelter subvertising
As the 2021 United Nations climate change conference (COP26) begins in Glasgow, activists post parody bus shelter adverts aimed at corporate greenwashing in Exeter city centre.
COMMENT ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Greta Thunberg calls on world leaders for honesty at COP26
An interview with climate activist Greta Thunberg on the eve of the COP26 summit published in partnership with Covering Climate Now, a global media collaboration.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Less is more
The University of Exeter published its long-awaited “Strategy 2030” on Monday. It’s a remarkable document, not least because of the Nobel-sized aspirations it expresses...
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Exeter City Council scraps own "unachievable" carbon emissions target
In an extraordinary reversal, the city council removed the goal of achieving carbon neutral operations by 2022 from its corporate risk register at an Audit & Governance committee meeting last week...
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
We're all in it together
Last Friday the UN released a report assessing the combined climate action plans of all 191 parties to the Paris Agreement which found that they point towards a catastrophic 2.7°C temperature rise by the end of the century...
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ ECONOMY & ENTERPRISE
It's grim down South West
Recent synthesis of economic data by Devon County Council doesn’t make for very cheerful reading...
NEWS ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
30 year plan for SW transport outlined in consultation document
Strategic vision places investment in roads ahead of decarbonisation despite acknowledging the region's high car dependency rate.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Environmental activist Imogen May defiant after second liability order for non-payment of council tax
Extinction Rebellion demonstrated at Exeter Law Courts in support of Crediton lone parent who has withheld council tax for two years in protest over government climate crisis inaction.
ANALYSIS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
University drops environmental standards for huge student flats development with council approval
University of Exeter and Exeter City Council both ignore own policies in plans to demolish 30 buildings and construct 50,000m2 of new student accommodation, telling us more about their priorities than their climate leadership claims.
COMMENT ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
António Guterres on the climate crisis: "We are coming to a point of no return"
An interview with the UN Secretary General on the eve of the G7 summit in Cornwall published as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration.
ANALYSIS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Devon Pension Fund fossil fuel investment position exposed by Shell and BP AGM votes
Shareholder support for Paris Agreement-compatible goals increases but fails to prevent continuing oil and gas exploration, extraction, production or consumption as experts intensify warnings that emissions reductions goals will be missed.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Follow the money
Glenn Woodcock and Roli Martin of Global City Futures were invited to join the board which oversees the Devon Carbon Plan at its meeting last month and given the same decision-making powers as the rest of the board, which is almost exclusively composed of public sector organisations...
COMMENT ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Is Exeter City Council going to abandon its Net Zero 2030 target?
Review suggests alignment with Devon Carbon Plan, currently aimed at 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050, citing "technical and financial challenges ahead", although change in policy would require decision by councillors after 6 May local elections.
Exeter Digest #2: Exeter local elections guide - Majority want net zero by 2030 - Council meetings to resume in person
With the local elections a week today and a bank holiday weekend on its way we thought we'd publish our second edition a day early to give you extra time to take your pick of our top stories.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Devon Carbon Plan consultation finds majority want net zero by 2030
Devon Climate Emergency Response Group questions whether 2030 "realistic" and suggests "palatable" compromise while only 13% of consultees support UK government's 2050 target.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
World Meteorological Organization report confirms "relentless" intensification of climate crisis despite pandemic lockdowns
2020 set to be equal warmest year on record despite cooling La Niña while Internal Energy Agency warns post-pandemic economic stimulus expected to drive second largest annual increase in carbon emissions in history and UK emissions set to overshoot 2030 target by 40%.
COMMENT ⁄ ECONOMY & ENTERPRISE
Selective use of statistics presents an unbalanced account of Exeter's economic & environmental status
Exeter City Council's Chief Executive uses statistics to show the city in a good light, but in doing so presents a picture which omits important information about the city's true position.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Atmospheric concentration of CO2 now 50% above pre-industrial levels
Met Office says 2021 will be first year on record in which symbolic threshold breached for more than a few days as UK prepares to host COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference.
COMMENT ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
I'm a climate scientist – here's three key things I have learned over a year of COVID
A leading climate scientist's perspective on what the community has learned over the past year about the interactions between the pandemic and the current and future global climate.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Report places Devon County Council among UK's top local authority fossil fuel investors
£157 million of Devon Local Government Pension Scheme is invested in companies including Royal Dutch Shell, BP, BHP, Anglo American and ExxonMobil despite local authority climate emergency declarations and carbon reduction commitments.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
District heating network planned for new South West Exeter development
Local councils are investing up to £7.3 million in a £23 million project to supply a development of 2500 homes with heat which depends on the Marsh Barton waste incinerator, Exeter's largest single source of carbon emissions.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
University research consortium launches "Accelerate to Net Zero" project
The GW4 Alliance of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter universities has launched a collaborative project aimed at accelerating decarbonisation across South West England and Wales.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Hospital creates parking for 200 cars despite city climate crisis goals
Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital says new parking "temporary" but no end-date given in planning application and no hard evidence of need provided.
ANALYSIS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Is the "Net Zero" Exeter plan fit for purpose?
Exeter City Futures' carbon reduction plan ignores over a million tonnes of carbon emissions and massively underestimates the challenges facing the city.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Exeter City Council accepts climate emergency plan to make city carbon neutral by 2030
Chief Executive warns that resourcing the plan is "problematic" given COVID-19 financial challenges and that lack of resources limits the council's capacity for immediate practical action.
NEWS ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Coronavirus halts decision to spend £3.9 million on car park repairs and upgrade
Exeter City Council spending plans will be revisited in June at same time as Net Zero Exeter carbon reduction plan is discussed by Executive.
COMMENT ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Is Exeter finally responding to the climate emergency?
A surge of activity about action to combat climate change is taking place in Exeter, including the publication of a carbon neutral blueprint pending a "mobilisation summit", but detail and evidence is still missing and community engagement is falling short of debate.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Exeter climate strike anniversary march brings junction to standstill
Protestors form human chain around County Hall to highlight Devon County Council's role as key regional climate policy decision-maker after Exeter City Council confiscates banners promoting carbon neutral blueprint policies.
ANALYSIS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Exeter net zero housing revolution takes root in Chestnut Avenue
Exeter City Council is taking exploratory steps from talking about a zero carbon future to delivering one with a pilot housing project in Wonford.
ANALYSIS ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
An integrated public transport service for Devon remains a distant aspiration
A change to Exeter's G bus service operator has revealed the limits of Devon County Council's approach to transport system integration.
ANALYSIS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Exeter youth climate strikers launch Green New Deal for Devon
Fridays For Future Exeter have published a detailed vision of a more equitable future that calls on elected representatives across the county to recognise the climate crisis as a symptom of a dysfunctional political economy.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Thousands march in Exeter for global climate strike as millions mobilise worldwide
Fridays for Future Exeter led 3500 people on a climate crisis demonstration through the city backed by dozens of organisations on the eve of the UN Climate Action Summit in New York.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Mock funeral march brings Exeter city centre to a sombre standstill
Extinction Rebellion campaigners brought the gravity of the ecological emergency home to Exeter on Saturday in a funereal procession commemorating wildlife loss caused by climate change.
ANALYSIS ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
We already know what to do about the climate crisis. We must get on with doing it as fast as we can.
Exeter and Devon council leaders must begin rapid regional decarbonisation now. The quickest, cheapest way to cut emissions in Exeter is to deter combustion engines from entering the city. Clean air legislation offers a basis for action.
COMMENT ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Exeter Youth Strike 4 Climate - the floodgates are open
Exeter is one of the smallest cities in Britain, yet it has produced some of the country's biggest youth strikes. Climate activist Sam Sleeman recounts the story so far and explains what it means to the young people who are creating a global wave of change.
COMMENT ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Is EU membership essential to our ability to deal with the climate emergency?
Molly Scott Cato, Green Party MEP for the South West, visited Exeter during her re-election campaign to explain why the EU and its Green Group is leading the way on a wide range of progressive policies.
Today around 70 people joined the Exeter branch of Extinction Rebellion on the city's streets to demand urgent action to minimise the risk of catastrophic impacts from climate change.
