A petition to put doors on all fridges and freezers in supermarkets

How to help the planet at home

5 things you can do to help the climate crisis

1: Go along to climate action events within your community

Friends of the Earth Cymru (FOEC) organise climate action events:

Their most recent event was in Swansea which provided an opportunity for people in the local area to join together to come up with local solutions to tackle climate change.

Keep up to date with upcoming events via their Facebook page.

2: Eat meat-free

According to Friends of the Earth UK, meat and dairy production is responsible for 14% of emissions. Find out more on their What to Eat page.

3: Switch things off and insulate your home

The UK still uses a lot of climate-wrecking gas so turning off lights and unplugging appliances as well as making a dent in your carbon emissions by properly insulating your home will help!

4: Ditch your car on shorter trips

Cars pollute the air and contribute to harmful emissions. Journeys under five miles could be walked instead or, failing that, busses and car-shares are a greener alternative.

5: Volunteer for your local Friends of the Earth group

Cardiff Friends of the Earth
You can help the organisation with a wide range of tasks such as running campaign stalls, collecting petition signatures, planning and running events, talking to the media, or lobbying politicians.

Climate activists want the Welsh Government to pass a proposal urging supermarkets to put doors on all their fridges and freezers

The equivalent of 25 medium size coal power plants’ worth of power would be saved throughout Europe by 2030 if supermarkets put doors on their fridges and freezers – Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

A petition to make supermarkets and retailers add doors to all their fridges and freezers is currently being considered by the Welsh Assembly.

If the proposal is approved, Wales will reduce its national carbon footprint and electricity consumption, paving the way for a greener Wales.

In a statement taken from the Welsh Assembly’s online petition portal, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) stated, “If retailers put doors on fridges, they would cut their energy use by a massive 33% and 1% of the UK energy bill would be cut if the top 5 supermarkets put doors on fridges.”

The petition received 91 signatures and is “wholeheartedly” supported by Friends of the Earth Cymru (FOEC).

Bleddyn Lake, a spokesperson for FOEC, said, “We were astounded to learn that every 2.5 metre fridge without a door uses the same amount of electricity as two average houses per year!”

Considering that most of this electricity comes from fossil fuels, it is a shameful waste of energy, he added.

Putting doors on fridges is a no brainer if we are serious about averting climate breakdown, he continued, we have to act quickly and decisively.

A petition was also proposed to the UK government but was cut off at 49, 272 signatures due to the general election – the government stated it has no plans to enforce the proposal but is working on making fridges and freezers more energy efficient – Photo by Ronan Furuta on Unsplash

Following The Environment (Wales) Act in 2016, the Welsh Government is under pressure to deliver on plans to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050.

The petitioner said putting doors on all fridges and freezers in supermarkets and retailers will contribute significantly in hitting this target.

Retailers will benefit from lower energy bills, a more climate conscious image and happier customers as a result, say a coalition of European NGOs (non-governmental organisations) in a statement taken from the online petition.

They call it a “win-win for everyone, especially for the environment. Because of climate change, we simply can’t afford to be so careless with energy any longer.”