(Climate) actions speak louder than words

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28 Feb 2025

Staying positive and powerful against the new wave of climate denialism.

Article written by anna.cooper

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Like us, you may be feeling saddened by the recent surge in climate denialism across politics and social media. But beneath the racket, wind and solar farms are continuing to do their jobs quietly every day, pushing fossil fuels further off the grid. Here are some of the ways we counter denial with hope to keep our eyes fixed on a fossil fuel free future.

Start with communities

We put people at the heart of the energy transition, ensuring the benefits of clean energy are kept local. The Ambition Community Energy wind turbine in Bristol – which we provided £4 million of investment into – is a great example of how local clean energy projects are already benefitting communities every day. As well as providing a new revenue stream to drive regeneration in Lawrence Weston, plans for an Energy Learning Zone will inspire young people and upskill residents to pursue green careers. Making the benefits of climate action directly relatable to our everyday lives also helps unite and inspire action.

“Start where people are. Talk to them less about an invisible gas that needs to be eliminated by some future date, and more about high energy bills caused by volatile fossil fuel prices we can’t control…. Climate action can become popular when people understand its benefits in the terms of their own communities, and their own lives.”

Caroline Lucas and Rupert Read, 'It’s time for climate populism'

Harness the power of together

We won’t tackle the climate emergency if we don’t work together. So we collaborate with individuals, businesses and communities to build the renewable assets that the UK needs, faster. As well as providing community funding bridges, we enter into co-investments and joint ventures with industry peers and help businesses decarbonise through on-site renewables. Today we unite a community of over 6,000 individuals, businesses, social enterprises and institutions all committed to making the switch from fossil fuels to renewables. Together we’ve generated over 2 million MWh of clean electricity and avoided the emission of more than 1 million tonnes of CO2e.

And let’s not forget the facts!

Against the noise, we remain focussed on action – last year acquiring the rights to our biggest project yet. UK fossil fuel generation reached its lowest quarterly share in a century in Q3 2024, while renewable energy hit record growth. Let’s not forget how far we’ve come from when renewables were the pursuits of a humble few in the 90s to becoming mainstream today – generating over 50% of Britain’s electricity last year. In 2024 we also said goodbye to the UK’s last coal fired power station – a huge milestone in the energy transition and poignant reminder that together we are making significant progress. So let’s keep it up, and support each other as we keep our eyes fixed on a cleaner, fairer future.