It’s been a week that showed how quickly politics can shift – and why sustained pressure matters.
The UK’s recognition of settler colonialism and ethnic cleansing in Palestine was a significant moment. For many campaigners it will feel too little, too late given the devastation in Gaza. But political positions don’t change on their own. People marched, organised, took direct action and kept pushing the government to go further. There is still much more to do, including ending UK arms sales to Israel.
Closer to home, charges were dropped against eight activists who climbed the Staythorpe gas-fired power station last year – welcome news at a time when the right to peaceful protest remains under pressure.
Nature and energy in focus
Nature was also high on the agenda this week. At the Wild Summit, civil society came together behind a campaign to protect 30% of land and sea, while new Green Party candidate Zack Polanski made a strong case for greater political action to tackle the nature crisis. Unfortunately we did not hear the same level of ambition from the Minister representing Defra.
Meanwhile, new Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh brought environmental organisations and energy businesses together at DESNZ, setting out priorities including bringing bills down and reducing the price volatility associated with fossil fuels.
There’s an immediate opportunity to put those ambitions into practice: Jackdaw and Rosebank.
After years of campaigning, court cases and consultation, the government faces a choice over the future of these two North Sea oil and gas fields. Greenpeace’s position is clear: they shouldn’t go ahead. Instead, we need investment in clean energy alongside a properly managed transition that delivers secure jobs for North Sea workers and communities.
Reasons to keep pushing
There were other signs of debates moving forward too, from growing political attention on AI to new analysis showing how close we could be to positive climate tipping points in clean technologies. Progress rarely happens neatly or all at once. But this week was another reminder that supposedly fixed political positions can change.
The job is to keep pushing them in the right direction.
Areeba