Where are they now profile: David Babbs
People & Planet has been around for over 35 years in one form or another and to celebrate this, we will be profiling former members of P&P or Third World First groups to see what they've been up to since leaving the network.
David Babbs
Name: David Babbs
When and where were you involved in People & Planet/Third World First?
I was in my university group 1999 to 2002, then worked in the Oxford support office as an intern from 2002 to 2003.
What are you doing now? How did you get there?
I’m working for Friends of the Earth. I lead our Capacity Building Team, which supports Friends of the Earth local activists and groups - helping new groups get going, providing training and advice, helping groups link up and work together, etc. I’m also responsible for the activism side of Friends of the Earth’s Big Ask Campaign, which is calling for a strong Climate Change Law to bring down the UK’s emissions.
What impact has being involved with P&P/3W1 had on your career?
P&P was where I learnt how to campaign. I’m still using skills and insights I got whilst I was in P&P every day. I probably wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now if I hadn’t got involved with P&P.
I think the impact P&P has had for me extends way beyond just getting a great job, though. Since joining a P&P group when I was 18 I’ve never stopped being part of local activist groups - at the moment it’s the Hackney Friends of the Earth group. I think P&P’s shaped my outlook and approach to campaigning, my belief in the importance of ordinary people taking action. I’ve also got a whole network of great friends who I met through P&P.
What inspired you to start campaigning?
My inspiration comes from a gut feeling that things could be better, politically, socially, and environmentally and that the reason they’re not is largely due to the conscious actions of powerful people rather than due to bad luck or any sort of natural order. Campaigning together is how we work together to challenge that and change things.
Describe your most memorable P&P/3W1 experience.
From my uni days, I was proud of the campaign we ran to stop arms companies running recruitment events on campus. We did a series of great actions at careers fairs, got loads of great press coverage and sparked a real debate on campus about the role UK Arms companies play in fuelling conflict, and their relationship to our uni. Most importantly we were successful - BAE Systems stopped attending regular careers events. They then started trying to run secret recruitment events off-campus which only engineering students were told about. Unfortunately for them our friendly spies in the engineering faculty kept us updated and BAE continued to feel the heat…
During my time working for P&P I was “lucky” enough to be the only member of P&P staff ever arrested in the line of duty. We’d organised organised a colourful protest about Climate Change at the UK Headquarters of Esso (Exxonmobil). They’d had Greenpeace blockading the place the week before so I think the police over-reacted a bit. I asked a policeman a question about where he’d like a group of us to stand and he responded by arresting me! We weren’t actually breaking any laws so in the end they had to drop all the charges.
What do you think is the most pressing issue in the UK today?
Climate Change. Whether your priority is Human Rights, Social Justice, or protecting the environment, stopping dangerous Climate Change is essential.
What was the last album you listened to?
I was listening to Led Zeppelin IV whilst doing the washing up last night. Rock n Roll, eh?
What are your ambitions for the future?
In the immediate future, I’m really hoping we can follow through on The Big Ask campaign this year, get a strong Climate Change Law passed and get the UK’s climate emissions coming down really fast.
I don’t really have a definite plan for the future, I’m happy where I am for now and it feels like I’m in a good place to do my bit to help tackle Climate Change. I am studying Spanish though with a vague idea that I might like to work in Latin America sometime down the line, but nothing more concrete than that.
