E.ON shelves Kingsnorth
You did it! Pressure from Oxfam supporters forces E.ON to drop its plans to create a new coal-fired power station, and gives poor people hope of a better future.
Why is Oxfam involved?
E.ON was preparing to create a new monster coal-fired power station, the first to be built in the UK for 30 years. It would have emitted 6 million tonnes of CO2 annually – the equivalent of 25 developing countries’ combined emissions.
Around the world, communities are telling Oxfam that the seasons are changing. Droughts are intensifying, floods are becoming more severe and farmers don’t know when to plant their crops anymore. Climate change is affecting the poorest people on the planet. And Kingsnorth threatened to make things worse.
What happened?
As part of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition, over 5,000 emails from Oxfam supporters were fired off to E.ON chief executive Paul Golby. You told him to commit E.ON to seeking clean energy solutions for our energy needs.
Even more emails were sent to the Department for Energy. You told the government that we needed to go down a path towards a low carbon future. Thousands of you physically turned up at Kingsnorth for the Mili-band in June.
Watch our film from the Mili-band.
The result
E.ON announced that it was to delay building Kingsnorth, effectively pulling the plug on the dangerous plans – fantastic news for climate campaigners. It is all because of your relentless pressure, your unending passion, and your refusal to give up.
What do we want from our climate change campaign?
This campaign success is only a stepping-stone towards the green future that we need. But equally, it should not be underestimated.
The focus of Oxfam's campaign is to get an international agreement at the UN Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen this December. When the UK government sits at the negotiating table, we want it to lead the way in getting an agreement that slashes carbon emissions and finds resources that help developing countries adapt to the effects of climate change. It can’t commit Britain to a future where our energy needs are met by the unabated burning of fossil fuels.
What next?
There are also loads of other ways you can get involved from painting your face blue to writing to Gordon Brown to donating money and clothes.
We know that together we can make a difference.
