We want to double the number of Green MEPs for South East England.

Please can you volunteer a little of your time to help.

There are some simple things everyone can start doing right now.

• Spread the word on social media: Retweet @SEGreenParty, like the South East Green Party Facebook page, and share our posts. And when people respond start conversations, you can invite them to sign up for something on this web site.
• Get in touch with your local Green Party.

Below are the ways you can help us. Tick all those that you can do. Together we can make a difference for the common good.

Please tell us why you voted for a Green MEP in South East England and what you thought of our campaign.

Are you troubled by the reality of climate change and ecological breakdown? Would you like to do something about it? Do you want to influence our council to make real changes that might help us all?

If the answer is yes to any of the above then join the Green party in supporting our council to declare a Climate Emergency and begin meaningful action. Read the practical steps we and the council can take locally to mitigate the worst causes and affects of climate breakdown in the letter below and sign the endorsement form at the bottom of this page.

Alternatively you can download the letter here and deliver to Hastings Borough Council, Muriel Matters House, Breeds Place, Hastings TN34 3AA.

You can get it signed on behalf of your family, friends, work place or organisation. Please let us know below if you are signing on behalf of an organisation. We are intending to publish this as an open letter in the local press in January 2019 and would like this to be a cross party call from organisations, businesses and groups all over Hastings. This affects us all. There is no bigger challenge. Let's face it together.

Dear Hastings Borough Council,

In the light of the recent IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5° we are writing to support Hastings Borough Council in declaring a Climate Emergency. Limiting Global Warming to 1.5°C may still be possible with ambitious action from national regional and local authorities, civil society, the private sector and local communities.

Bold climate action can deliver new green jobs and economic benefits, preserve wildlife and habitats, and improve life for people worldwide.

We support the council in the urgent need to reduce the town’s carbon emissions to net zero by 2030, to put this goal at the forefront of all decision making from now on and develop an action plan within six months to achieve this goal.

To achieve this goal we see the following as essential commitments.

• The people of Hastings will convene a citizen’s assembly to generate local ideas for combating climate breakdown and to devise a path to achieving community-wide carbon-neutrality by 2030. We hope the council will take the lead in bringing this about.
• Ensure the revision of the Local Plan starting in 2019, includes a commitment to rigorous energy efficiency standards such as the internationally recognised Passivhaus Zero Carbon standards on all houses built on council owned land. This would reduce carbon emissions, save energy and keep money that would go to energy companies circulating in our local economy.
• The Local Plan should commit to the principles outlined in the Wildlife Trust’s Nature Recovery Network that puts space for nature at the heart of our planning systems in order to bring nature into the places where most people live their daily lives. Reducing car use and promoting walking cycling and sustainable transport should be at the centre of future plans for the town.
• Work with local community energy providers to cover the towns roofs with solar panels, combined in a smart grid that could provide cheaper energy for all local people.
• Within six months, update the council’s 2010 Environmental strategy to reflect the climate emergency with measurable goals including carbon footprinting of all council activities.
• Commit to a council carbon budget each year along side the annual budget. Alongside this, develop a town-wide approach to setting a carbon budget.

We look forward to working with the council to embrace the possibilities for positive change that undertaking these commitments can bring to the town.

Yours sincerely,