Empowering Communities Together
Why We Need to act
A crisis of our own making
Our society today faces a series of threats stemming from our overwhelming dependence on fossil fuels as the primary energy source powering our economy and our lives. Our climate, our environment, our access to clean and affordable energy, and our national energy security are all under threat from our dependence on oil and gas. Here in Bracknell Forest, we are not immune to these threats, and their impact on our lives, communities, and businesses in the coming years will be profound. We need to act now as a community if we are to meet them successfully.
The THreats
The Climate Crisis
A Biodiversity Crisis
A Biodiversity Crisis
“It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred” so said the 6th IPCC Report published in 2021.
It provides the clearest evidence yet of how the burning of fossil fuels to create the energy that we all use in our daily lives is leading to rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere and planetary warming.
This warming is leading to major changes in the worlds weather systems as well as here in Bracknell Forest.
A Biodiversity Crisis
A Biodiversity Crisis
A Biodiversity Crisis
Climate Change is impacting UK wildlife. The UK is one of the most nature-deprived countries in the world and we have already lost 50% of our natural biodiversity, and one in six species is facing extinction.
This trend is intensifying due to the impact of climate change which is damaging habitats, disrupting seasonal life cycles, increasing the prevalence of pests and diseases, and allowing non-native species from warm climates to thrive.
An Energy Affordability Crisis
Fossil fuels dictate UK Energy Prices.
Our dependence on fossil fuels is driving up energy costs, as we rely on increasingly expensive sources such as imported liquid natural gas. Energy Poverty is increasing, and our local industries are impacted.
Fossil fuels are at the heart of our economy and have allowed us to create the society we enjoy today. However, fossil fuels are finite and unevenly distributed, and we are increasingly relying on fewer and more expensive sources of supply.
The gas prices are still significantly higher than before the Ukraine War, as we increasingly import more expensive Liquefied Natural Gas from the USA and Qatar. Gas remains an essential fuel for electricity generation.
Electricity prices have also risen, forcing many into energy poverty and impacting UK industrial competitiveness, which in turn raises prices for food, goods, and services, leading to job losses.
An Energy Security Crisis
The UK is running out of fossil fuels, and we are increasingly dependent upon overseas suppliers, which threatens our national energy security and increases prices as we are increasinly exposed to geopolitical events
Energy security refers to a country's ability to meet its own energy needs using its own resources. In the UK, we have historically enjoyed long periods of energy security, first through the exploitation of our initially ample coal resources and later through the development of the North Sea.
The UK's coal, oil, and gas reserves are in decline. The last deep coal mine closed in 2015. Gas production has been in decline since 2001, and we have been a net importer of gas since 2005. In 2024, we imported 52% of our total gas demand. Oil production has also been in decline since 1999, and we have been net importers of primary oil since 2004.
We are reaching the end of our indigenous resources, and it is forecast that by 2050, we will be almost entirely dependent on overseas suppliers for our gas and oil needs, regardless of whether new exploration drilling is permitted or not in the North Sea or elsewhere in the UK.
Get involved and make a change
Volunteer your time or become a trustee
Volunteer your time or become a trustee
Volunteer your time or become a trustee