It feels, increasingly, that our predicament is not a crisis of knowledge but of attention and courage. The scale of risk now known should have reordered the political agenda years ago. Instead, the demands of the moment still outweigh the needs of the future.
Staying emotionally engaged with the climate emergency Date: 20 October 2025 Recipient: Professor Sally Russell, Chair of Sustainability and Organisational Behaviour — University of Leeds Context The first letter of Week 2 of One Letter a Day turns from local politics to academic voices shaping how we understand and act on
Community voices and the climate conversation Date: 19 October 2025 Recipient: Cllr Lou Cunningham, Green Party — Armley Ward, Leeds City Council Context The final letter of Week 1 of One Letter a Day turns toward grassroots and community leadership. Councillor Lou Cunningham, representing Armley for the Green Party, has long
Looking ahead, which two institutional or civic actors — locally or regionally — do you think could most help re-centre the climate emergency in public debate? And how might you envision your own role in that renewed effort?
How do you see your role — and that of Leeds’ civic figures — in helping people grasp the immediacy of the climate crisis and in making this shared challenge tangible through everyday community life?
Looking back on your first period in office, how do you assess your contribution to addressing the climate emergency within these roles? Do you feel your actions — and those of the Council — are proportionate to the urgency of the challenge and to how seriously your constituents view it?
How will you keep Leeds’ climate commitments central to your portfolio, ensuring that transport and economic decisions remain guided by the city’s net-zero goals? And what further leadership could the Council show to reconnect these daily choices with the scale of the emergency we face?
How do you see your role — both personally and within the Council — in keeping climate and environmental priorities visible in Leeds, and what concrete steps could you champion locally to demonstrate that leadership?
In your role as Executive Member for Climate, Energy and Environment, what are your immediate priorities to ensure Leeds genuinely accelerates decarbonisation, and how can engaged residents like me best contribute?
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There are so many moving parts to solving this global challenge that a few letters alone will not suffice. Real change requires engagement across the full spectrum of influence and belief