Vikki Slade MP Hosts Community Screening of The People's Emergency Briefing
Vikki Slade MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole hosted a free public screening of The People's Emergency Briefing at Broadstone Liberal Hall on Friday evening, followed by a facilitated community discussion.
The screening formed part of a growing UK-wide programme of events designed to ensure that both the public and decision-makers are clearly informed about the climate and nature crisis and what it could mean for communities across the country.
In November 2024, more than 1,200 MPs, peers and leaders from business, culture, faith, sport and the media gathered at Westminster Central Hall for the National Emergency Briefing, a landmark event bringing together leading experts to assess the UK's exposure to climate and nature risks.
Introduced by Chris Packham CBE, the briefing set out the implications of climate and nature breakdown for food security, public health, infrastructure, the economy and national security, alongside evidence-based actions that could help reduce these risks.
The event has since been adapted into a 50-minute public film, The People's Emergency Briefing, which launched nationwide on 7 April and is now being screened in communities across the UK.
The film features leading scientists and experts presenting a clear picture of the challenges ahead, while creating space for local communities to consider what these issues mean in their own areas and how they can support calls for stronger action.
Among those attending the Broadstone screening was Brian Bleese, Chief Executive of Dorset Wildlife Trust, who said:
"I've seen this film before and I find it no less hard-hitting every time I watch it. It fills me with both dread and hope. Dread at the scale of the challenges we face, but hope that we still have the opportunity to make meaningful changes if we act now.
Speaking after the event, Brian highlighted the local impacts already being felt in Dorset. "The climate and nature crisis is on our doorstep. We see it in the declining abundance of wildlife, from starlings disappearing from our skies to changes in our estuaries and coastline. Only around 15% of our rivers are currently in good ecological condition.
Yet there is so much that can be done locally. I'd love Dorset to become an exemplary county, a beacon for environmental action that inspires others across the country."
Vikki Slade MP said: "Combatting climate change starts locally. If every one of us takes a single step forward and makes a positive change, together we can make a real difference. I would encourage people not only to engage with their local MPs, but also to engage with their councils and support parliamentary petitions calling for stronger climate action.
She added: "I have seen this film several times now and I am pleased it creates the space to have honest conversations about what climate and nature change means for our communities. It also highlights the positive actions that can improve people's lives while addressing these challenges.
"I hope this film can be shown to as many people across Dorset as possible and would encourage local community groups to consider hosting a screening. Building understanding and encouraging constructive dialogue is an important step towards the action that the science tells us is needed."
The screening also highlighted a Parliamentary Call for the Government to hold its own emergency briefing to the nation, introduced by the Prime Minister, delivered by independent experts and broadcast live across television, radio and social media.
Chris Packham, who presents the film and originally helped launch the briefing for parliamentarians and decision-makers, said: "I'd encourage people everywhere to attend a screening of The People's Emergency Briefing. It creates exactly the kind of honest local conversation we now urgently need, both about what these changes mean where we live, and about what we can do together to address them."