< Back Shaping careers and growing the economy. Oh! And tackling climate change! Kev Oubridge interviews Mollie Roberts 1 Sept 2025 A young climate activist's perspective With Climate change, Nature loss and corporate responsibility now global priorities, the net zero sector is growing rapidly. As a young person, whether you want to work with nature, retrofit homes or build wind turbines, opportunities are opening up. A survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), found the net zero sector is growing three times faster than the overall UK economy, providing high-wage jobs across the country while cutting greenhouse gas emissions and increasing energy security. The net zero economy grew by 10% in 2024, generating £83bn in gross value added (GVA).Notably, the West Midlands was a growth hotspot, along with Yorkshire and the Humber, and south-west of England, bucking the trend of economic growth being confined to London and the south-east. As we all know though, getting jobs and moving into a career as a young person starting out is no easy task: you might not have the right qualifications, competition is fierce and it’s difficult to know exactly what a role entails from a job ad. There’s also the catch-22 of employers looking for people with experience when that’s the one thing young people tend to lack. Despite these challenges, twenty-year old Mollie Roberts is optimistic about her future, but has had to work hard to get where she is. Home schooled, Mollie says she enjoyed the freedom it gave her to study topics in depth and she remembers lots of interesting field trips, including a visit to a chilli factory, and going out on the boat with local fishermen in Devon. She took humanities A-levels before realising later that she wanted to take a more science and environment-related career direction. So she took a part-time Open University Certificate in Higher Education, Environment: Journeys Through a Changing World, while at the same time working full-time as a barista in a local coffee bar. Mollie is now applying to University of Exeter to do a four-year degree, which would include a year-long research placement. Confessing to enjoying research, Mollie says she could go on to do a Masters, although her preferred option is a research job or apprenticeship, ideally on a ship in the arctic. This would involve perhaps studying solar power or changes to the ocean or glaciers. Accepting that her arctic ambitions might take a while to come to fruition, she says she would also like to work overseas in a council or government role working within the community, where she could have a tangible impact on Climate change. Mollie will be supported in doing this by an impressive CV, which includes a number of paid for and volunteering roles – she currently works as a Ranger for the National Trust at Carding Mill Valley, as well as a day a week at Stokesay Castle for English Heritage. As a closing question I asked Mollie how she felt about Climate change. Her immediate response was ‘Worried! Big time’. She went on to say that this made it difficult for her to talk about future jobs and her career, not knowing what the future holds for her and for her children, should she have any. This was a salutary reminder to me that Climate anxiety is a thing and I might have been better asking the question up front. A recent Woodland Trust study found that 70% of 16-24 year-olds are worried about Climate change, and the majority of people from older age groups are similarly concerned. Perhaps a way to cope with anxiety is to talk about Climate change with others and share your concerns. You could join a climate or nature focused group or sign up for their newsletter. Read about or take a free online course or consider attending a Climate Fresk workshop to learn more about Climate change, why it’s happening and what we can do about it. You could even follow Mollie’s example and pursue a career in the net zero sector. It’s growing rapidly and there are all sorts of opportunities for those with drive and determination. Previous Next

< Back Local groups meet with Julia Buckley (Labour MP for Shrewsbury & Atcham) David Matthews 21 Jun 2025 Q&A focused on how we can better protect Nature and take climate action On Saturday 21 June, Shrewsbury MP Julia Buckley joined a community Q&A about Climate and Nature issues at the Shropshire Wildlife Trust. The event was hosted by Zero Hour (the campaign for the Climate and Nature Bill), Better Shrewsbury Transport*, Up Sewage Creek and Shrewsbury Vegans. It was chaired by Richard Grindle, CEO of the Shropshire Wildlife Trust. Julia took questions from the audience on a range of topics including river pollution, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, the North West Relief Road, factory farming, and nature loss. Jamie Russell from Zero Hour, who helped organise the event, says: ‘Julia was exceedingly generous with her time and fielded robust questions on a range of topics. She explained her desire to use her role on the Environmental Audit Committee** to push the Government to be bolder in its response to the Climate and Nature crisis, and agreed to join crossparty MPs who have signed the Early Day Motion in support of the Climate and Nature Bill .*** She also talked very powerfully about being shocked by a Parliamentary briefing from leading scientists about the devastating rate of change being witnessed in Antarctica. Over the next few months, Zero Hour will be supporting local residents in constituencies across the UK as they set up similar community Q&A events with their MPs to push them to prioritise the climate and nature crisis in all aspects of their work. If you’d like to be involved, get in touch at campaign@zerohour.uk ’. ***The Climate and Nature Bill returns to Parliament on 11 July. The Zero Hour campaign is asking residents to write to the Prime Minister ahead of this date asking him to give the Bill emergency debate time, as well as writing to your MP to request they sign the Early Day Motion on this much-needed Bill. Write to the PM to ask for debate time. Write to your MP about the Early Day Motion. Join Zero Hour at The Climate Coalition's mass lobby of MPs in Westminster on 9 July. *With reference to Shrewsbury, Julia is supporting the active travel initiatives associated with the Big Town Plan and better integration of rail and bus services. **Julia is a member of the Environment Audit Committee and pointed out that the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee (ESNZ) is more directly involved in plans to achieve net zero, so we should consider how to influence that committee too. Previous Next

< Back Climate campaigners find common ground with Helen Morgan, North Shropshire MP John Hargreaves 18 Oct 2024 On the topics of awareness raising, pensions, energy and farming Helen Morgan MP met climate activists from Market Drayton, Wem and Whitchurch on 18 October, as part of the national Common Ground initiative by the Climate Coalition. The North Shropshire climate campaigners joined hundreds around the country who met their local Members of Parliament to discuss how to work together for effective action in the face of climate breakdown. ‘We appreciated Helen Morgan’s commitment to climate action, including her support for the important Climate and Nature bill now before Parliament, as well as her very well-informed and positive approach to the issues we discussed. We look forward to working together in the future to support climate action at local and national levels,’ said John Hargreaves, Chair of Market Drayton Climate Action. At the meeting Helen Morgan responded to four specific requests, as well as sharing her insights into some of the challenges and political approaches to action on climate. The importance of leadership in influencing public awareness of climate issues Helen Morgan agreed that although significant action on climate must come at government level, widespread community understanding and support will be required. The climate campaigners asked for Ms Morgan to help build public awareness of the issues by using opportunities in her communications to refer to climate links in many of the initiatives and areas in which she is involved. She responded that this is an area she will bear in mind in future. Ms Morgan pointed out that communicating about the climate emergency is challenging in the face of social media responses from climate deniers, and that biodiversity issues are often received more readily. Climate campaigners can support Ms Morgan in referring to climate by using social media to welcome her comments. Pension holdings in fossil fuels Liberal Democrat policy is for all pension funds to be divested from fossil fuels. Although locally there have been repeated efforts urging the Shropshire Pension Fund to stop fossil fuel investments, there have been negative responses or no response at all. The climate groups asked Helen Morgan to write to the Chair of the Shropshire Pension Fund to ask what steps they are taking to divest as a matter of urgency from fossil fuels, which she agreed to do. Supporting farmers to move to sustainable practice North Shropshire is an agricultural area in which we are witnessing loss of biodiversity and the increasingly the detrimental impact of bigger farms, including impacts on carbon emissions. The climate campaigners asked Helen Morgan to write on behalf of farmers in North Shropshire to ministers in Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs to ask about how they are planning across departments to incentivise sustainable practice which will be manageable, accessible and economically viable for farmers. Ms Morgan said she would write to the ministers, and also that she expects Tim Fallon as Liberal Democrat lead on farming to be active on these issues in Parliament. Barbara Cotterell from Wem Area Climate Action mentioned the possibility of a farming forum in Wem next year, which Ms Morgan could consider attending. Energy efficiency and renewable energy Chloe King from Wem, who works for an energy charity, gained Ms Morgan’s agreement to write to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, asking for retrofit grants to be reformed and to be more accessible. Chloe will send supporting data on experience with the difficulty in gaining support through the grants. Ms Morgan also described cross-party support in Parliament for requiring solar panels on all new builds, as well as moves to require landlords to upgrade housing to be more energy efficient. On behalf of the climate groups, John Hargreaves thanked Ms Morgan for her willingness to support climate action. ‘It is heartening for us to have national representation that recognises the crucial steps that must be taken toward a safe and healthy future,’ he said. Previous Next

< Back Net Zero Progress - How are we doing in Shropshire? - not well - a NWRR update Nancy Stewart 1 Mar 2025 How the North West Relief Road for Shrewsbury jeopardises Shropshire's climate commitments Shropshire Council risks tearing up its climate commitments as it continues to push for the construction of the proposed North West Relief Road (NWRR). Following a recent recalculation of the carbon emissions associated with the road, the planning officer has admitted this project will undermine the council's 2030 net zero targets. Building the NWRR contradicts the meaning of ‘emergency’ in the climate crisis. In recommending the NWRR be approved by the planning committee, the planning officer sought to downplay its impact by stating that although the additional emissions would burst through Shropshire’s carbon budget, compared to global emissions it would be a relatively small amount. The Council could shift to 2050 as a target for net zero, he said. The proposed NWRR scheme remains controversial ahead of May’s elections, with different candidates in favour or opposing it. Why not ask your prospective councillors what their views are? Market Drayton Climate Action has recently responded to a few of the arguments made in favour of the NWRR in response to the group raising these issues: Pro: ‘For Market Drayton residents using the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, the NWRR will provide a much quicker option than that offered at present. This would be particularly important during a medical emergency.’ Response: We would like to make an equally emotional appeal: that by hugely weakening our response to the climate emergency, we are going to be facing more medical emergencies in Market Drayton. Pro: To offset the carbon emissions of the NWRR ‘we are committing to the equivalent increase in carbon offsetting’. Response: Carbon offsets have a very dubious record and should never be used as an excuse for increasing dangerous emissions levels. Better Shrewsbury Transport comments: ‘We estimate that to absorb these emissions within ten years the council would need to plant around 1.4 million extra trees – and keep them alive.’ Pro: The NWRR will ‘deliver major reductions in traffic, congestion and air pollution in Shrewsbury and many surrounding villages, boost public transport, cycling and walking, and attract new jobs and investment into the county.’ Response: This is highly contestable: The UK Climate Change Committee says ‘“investment in roads should be contingent on analysis justifying how they contribute to the UK’s pathway to Net Zero” – not to investment in the economy. Shropshire Council’s own modelling shows the road would have a limited effect on congestion in the town centre – while some roads might see peak flow reductions of 1 in 4 cars, many town centre roads will see no improvement. Meanwhile, traffic will increase on other roads servicing the new route. There is well established evidence that, rather than reduce congestion, new roads actually create more traffic and fail to deliver the economic benefits claimed (e.g. CPRE, 2017). Shropshire Council has not fully investigated the potential to reduce congestion by supporting walking, cycling and public transport. The Big Town Plan Masterplan for Shrewsbury has outlined exactly how these alternative measures could work but Shropshire Council has not included this in its traffic modelling. The original planning application for this road received a record-breaking 5400 objections, with only 220 people supporting it. Shrewsbury Town Council opposes the project. The revised carbon figures point firmly to the right course of action – immediate abandonment of plans for the NWRR.You can read Shropshire Climate Action's original review of the proposed road here . Our position that Shropshire can't meet its climate commitments if the road is built remains unchanged Previous Next

< Back The Environmental Leadership Programme for 18-25 year olds Sascha Robinson 1 Jul 2024 My personal experience Growing up in Shropshire, I always felt privileged to be surrounded by nature. This experience fuelled my love for the outdoors and inspired me to seek out nature more as I grew older. Witnessing environmental degradation and the lack of opportunities to connect people to nature has been challenging. Shortly after starting my first job as a teacher, a family member informed me about the Environmental Leadership Programme 2 (ELP2) available in the West Midlands. This free, nine-month program for 18-25-year-olds seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to learn how to make a difference. Before joining ELP2, my climate action efforts were mostly solitary. I had made personal changes to reduce my environmental impact but I struggled to find and connect with like-minded individuals in my community. Many of my friends didn't share my passion, leaving me feeling isolated in my efforts to make a difference in Shropshire. Occasionally, I'd see local climate meetups advertised but the thought of walking into a room full of people twice my age wondering, “Who is she?” and “what does she know?”, kept me from attending. ELP2 provided a welcoming space to engage with climate issues and my local community. From the first weekend, I met many people my age who shared my passion for making a difference. As a 25-year-old, I was inspired by the work of the youngest participants and felt a newfound belief that I could contribute more. Throughout the course, we built knowledge, skills, and confidence, enabling us to take more significant steps forward. As part of the course, we were challenged to develop our own campaigns. We spent time planning and considering what our communities needed to connect them to nature. I found myself now talking directly with influential people across Shropshire and felt more connected to the climate community than ever. Not only have I found connections with like-minded individuals, but I also feel more confident in my abilities and realised that my place within these groups was valued, not looked down upon. I can make a difference. Oh, and that climate meetup on Tuesday night filled with people twice my age? I hosted it. Previous Next

< Back Teach the Future campaign Rosa Strange 2 Sept 2024 Making our schools more sustainable The RAAC scandal that broke a year ago affected hundreds of schools across the UK, damaging the education of thousands of children and young people. For many, the scandal served to highlight the extent to which school buildings are unsustainable, as well as unsafe and falling apart. Teach the Future is a student-led campaign to urgently improve education on the climate crisis in the UK. Fund the Future is our newest campaign, calling for the UK government to significantly increase funding for the retrofitting and rebuilding of school buildings, to help them become more environmentally sustainable. As well as helping the country to reach net-zero targets, eco-friendly retrofitting is vital for ensuring that students have a safe learning environment, while helping schools cut high energy costs, and allowing young people to see and learn about sustainable architecture first-hand. Our report , released in September 2023, estimates that it will cost £16.3bn to retrofit all UK schools to net-zero emissions . We are calling on the government to step up and deliver the funding we need to save education. But we can’t do it alone. We need UK school staff and pupils to send in photos of crumbling and inefficient school buildings, to show the government the effects of underfunding. To be in with a chance of winning a £50 National Book Token, send us pictures of the unsafe and damaged areas of your school by emailing hello@teachthefuture.uk or completing our anonymous form . Previous Next

< Back What is Going Wild in Bishop’s Castle? Dan Hodgkiss 1 Aug 2024 How the project is developing to support local wildlife Going Wild in BC, often known simply as Going Wild, is about improving green spaces around the town and parish of Bishop’s Castle for the benefit of people and wildlife. It’s an integral part of Bishop's Castle’s Town Council Biodiversity Action plan, our local response to the Biodiversity crisis - the current sorry state of our wildlife. We’ll be surveying at least 20 sites across the parish, creating a picture of the town’s wildlife and habitat management plans to help them flourish. We’re also recruiting, supporting and training volunteers to help look after these spaces, ensuring their survival beyond the lifetime of the project. People won’t protect what they don’t know, so a big part of this project is engaging local people with nature on their doorstep through joining in local events and running regular kids' clubs. Our goal is to produce a ‘how-to’ toolkit, to allow local councils across Shropshire and the wider UK to replicate our plan. Actions as simple as planting an acorn or complex as creating a pond from scratch both have value. It’s not rocket science: together we can make a world where we thrive alongside the rest of nature. Get in touch with Dan at goingwild@lightfootenterprises.org Previous Next

< Back In December we clanged for COP28 in Shrewsbury Fiona Morgan 9 Dec 2023 Part of the Climate Justice Coalition Day of Action On the 9th December groups and individuals, including those from environmental and faith organisations, met in Shrewsbury as part of the Climate Justice Coalition Day of Action and held a protest march “WHILE COP TALKS - WYLE COP RISES!”. Gathering at the bottom of Wyle Cop, we made the most of Shrewsbury’s traffic-free weekends to march and drum together around the town helping to raise the alarm about the lack of action on the climate crisis, stopping to support the North West Relief Road protest outside Market Hall. Previous Next

< Back South Shropshire Climate Action mentioned in Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons Fiona Morgan 17 Jan 2023 Following on from our meeting with our Philip Dunne (MP) on the 6th January, Philip Dunne raised a question at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons on the 17th January where the work of South Shropshire Climate Action was mentioned. The video can be watched via this link . "Does my Right Hon. Friend the Prime Minister join me in welcoming many of its [the Independent Review of Net Zero] recommendations, particularly to provide clarity and continuity to all those working to decarbonise our economy, especially those supporting the South Shropshire Climate Action group in my constituency?" Previous Next

< Back Big Green Week (7-15th June) comes to Shropshire David Matthews 7 Jun 2025 Local library plays host to diverse range of climate activities Stretton Climate Care supported Church Stretton Library during “Big Green Week” (7-15th June). The library hosted our information stall for the week and our Thursday-morning energy advice drop-in centre, while promoting our monthly repair cafe on 15th June. The library also hosted a well-attended Climate Fresk Session organised through the Marches Energy Agency. Community groups and organisations can arrange Climate Fresk sessions at no cost at the moment, with support from the Marches Energy Agency (see poster below and contact: office@mea.org.uk for details). None of this would have been possible without the enthusiastic leadership and support of librarians Daniel and Gail, pictured with our stall. Previous Next

< Back SSCA signs the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Fiona Morgan 31 Jan 2023 We need to get serious about taking global climate action Al Gore’s blistering 4 minute speech at the World Economic Forum, January 2023 about the state of the climate crisis Watch it and weep and then take action! Former Vice President of the United States, Al Gore, gave an incredibly powerful and passionate 4 minute speech during a panel session at the World Economic Forum, Davos in January, which summarised in just 4 blistering minutes where the world is at in relation to the climate crisis; the deliberate attempts by the fossil fuel industry to scupper any meaningful action to reduce carbon emissions including undermining the COP process; and the moral obligation that we have to take action to transition to net zero for the sake of all younger people and to prevent upwards of 1 billion people becoming climate refugees. You can watch the video here . Sign up to the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty TODAY The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is a bold new proposal to phase out coal, oil and gas faster, fairly and forever. Similar to other impactful international treaties that have helped phase out the use of nuclear weapons, landmines and chlorofluorocarbons, a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty will require widespread global support – from a wide range of institutions and individuals including civil society organisations, cities, governments and citizens around the world. The current priority is for organisations and individuals to endorse the Treaty at fossilfueltreaty.org and promote the concept among their networks using the hashtag #FossilFuelTreaty South Shropshire Climate Action has joined hundreds of organisations around the world in calling for a #FossilFuelTreaty with 3 objectives: No new coal, oil & gas Phase out fossil fuels A global #JustTransition Watch this 90-second video to find out more. Previous Next

< Back The Smart Energy Network Demonstrator (SEND) at Keele University Clive Dyson 8 Mar 2023 SSCA's field visit to Keele University to see their renewable energy park Mike Bourke, Susan Lockwood and Clive and Kate Dyson visited Keele University on Wednesday 8th March 2023 to see the renewable energy park and the Smart Energy Network Demonstrator (SEND). Keele University operates its own electricity distribution network, so is in a good position to experiment, somewhat isolated from the grid. It has two wind turbines, generating up to 1.7 MW, and an array of 12,500 solar panels, generating up to c. 5.5 MW. It also has a c. 2 MWh battery. On the cold, clouded winter day of our visit it was supplying about two thirds of the energy demand of the campus. There is also an export grid connection rated at about 1 MW. Alongside the energy park, it has been running a Smart Energy Network Demonstrator project, with support from Siemens (I believe it’s had research funding as well). This controls the generation system, use of electricity across the campus and export to / import from the grid. SEND also provides support to local enterprises, assisting them to develop energy-efficient low carbon solutions, and adding 120 new jobs and £40 million gross value added (GVA) to the regional economy. The University also carries out research and development in relation to low-carbon technologies, new energy products and data management systems. For example, it successfully trialled OFGEM’s Hydeploy project to inject 20% Green hydrogen into the University’s wholly owned gas network, testing its safety in the existing pipes and boilers and reducing carbon emissions by 7%. This project is now being taken forward on a larger scale in Gateshead, involving local homes, schools and other public buildings. Keele is also participating in a consortium of eight regional universities in the HyDEX programme to promote a new hydrogen industrial economy. During our visit we viewed the energy park, and learned of its positive impact on local biodiversity. During a (much warmer!) time spent in the impressive control centre we learned about the monitoring systems, the relationship of renewable energy developments to the planning regime, and the constraints of a decentralized community system like this in relation to the National Grid. This is a marvellous regional resource, and we hope to arrange further visits by key local organisations. We are most grateful to the staff of SEND for such a memorable learning experience. Previous Next