A decade of climate action before Possible was born.
On 10th October 2019, we came out as Possible. But together we’ve been working to speed up action on climate change for years (10 years in fact) with our previous name - 10:10 Climate Action.
Since the launch of 10:10, we’ve been all about being loud and proud of our carbon-cutting antics. The infectious can-do attitude of everyone involved meant the seed planted by the Age of Stupid film became a full-blown global movement that got tens of thousands of people, businesses, schools and other organisations shaking up the status quo in a rush to cut emissions. 750,000 tonnes of carbon were saved by 1010ers for 2010 (the equivalent of taking over 150,000 cars off the road for a year)!
The infectious fire kept us going and kept us growing, igniting new community climate action groups, such as HASL to start, and inspiring others to jump onboard. From baking cakes to bathing in baked beans, the creative ways 10:10ers got others involved was inspirational. 10:10ers in Brighton put on a party on the pier complete with a giant disco ball (how very Brighton!). They called it the ‘DIS CO2’ (get it?) and danced all night to climate-inspired tunes (think ‘When the Fuel Runs Out’, ‘Heatwave’, and ‘Too hot’).
The 10 years of 10:10 was a whirlwind of climate action. Here are some of the highlights:
Supporting communities to go renewable
We helped schools and community groups up and down the country raise money to install solar panels. With power generated on their rooftops these groups didn’t just cut emissions, they saved money on their energy bills (meaning more money for the important stuff), and got that priceless sense of community pride.
… & standing up for them when they’re renewable projects were threatened.
When government cut the Feed-in-tariff (Fit) back in 2015, the rug was pulled out from underneath many community energy projects. We made sure the Fits didn’t go without a fight.
55,000 wrote in to the government’s consultation, and the level of public criticism forced politicians to dial down some of the monster cuts they'd planned.
But we still had work to do. Small scale community energy projects were hit hard. They had just weeks to raise the funds they needed to stay afloat. 10:10ers spread the word and pitched in to help them beat the clock.
Let’s not forget Balcombe - the community that fought off the fracking industry.
Back in 2013, the beautiful Sussex village of Balcombe, found itself at the centre of a national controversy over the future of energy, as frackers rolled into down for a bit of experimental drilling. Together, we helped them build a brighter alternative, with community owned solar. 10:10ers across the country supported the community by sending hundreds of letters backing their planning application and donating thousands for the group's final share offer. With solar panels everywhere from a cow shed to the local schools, and their own solar farm, Balcombe is frack-free and running largely on sunshine. They also helped inspire our world-leading solar railways project, Riding Sunbeams.
Spreading the good news
We know that climate change is terrifying, and we definitely know there’s a LOT to be sad about. But we know we need hope to keep us going. So we found stories of solutions and shone a spotlight on them. 10million people watched videos we made of small and inspirational community projects.Through sharing our videos, and the positive news we shared on social media, our early supporters helped us spread hope and keep the fire flickering.
Restoring nature to lock up carbon - and defending communities from flooding at the same time
Taking on the climate crisis isn’t just about cutting carbon, it’s about ensuring our natural systems for absorbing carbon are as powerful as possible. So earlier this year, 10:10ers got their hands dirty to plant hundreds of trees in flood-affected communities in Worcestershire and Greater Manchester to help build natural carbon-sucking defences.
Standing up for onshore wind
For almost three years, we've been campaigning to lift the blocks to onshore wind. 10:10ers have not only pulled this niche bit of energy policy into the public eye, we’ve changed the narrative. Government blocked onshore wind because they thought it wasn’t popular. Now they know it’s not the case. 10:10ers took their message direct to Westminster, signed petitions, and through persistent and strategic lobbying of their local MPs, have got over 150 MPs to call for policy change.
Getting techy
Through the Look Up app and our Heatseekers quests, 10:10ers turned their smartphones into climate-convo starters. People across 10 continents used the Look Up App to go on solar treasure hunts to realise how much roof space was being wasted without panels. And 130 used thermal imaging cameras to learn about and engage others in exploring heat energy around their homes and neighbourhoods.
Together we achieved so much as 10:10. And with 10 years of climate action behind us, we’re defining what’s Possible.