How a local petition became a national climate victory, with Sarah Finch of the “Finch ruling”
About this episode
Sarah Finch discusses her journey from a local petition to a significant climate victory against the UK government.
What does it really take to challenge the UK government on climate – and win? Enter climate winner – Sarah Finch of the legendary UK “Finch ruling”. From Surrey oil well to the Supreme Court, Sarah Finch and the Weald Action Group took the government to task – forcing it to rewrite how it assesses the environmental impact of new oil and gas projects, forever! And now she’s sharing the story. Sarah Finch of the “Finch ruling” herself joins Climate Curious’s Ben Hurst to share how a grassroots campaign grew into one of the most consequential climate legal victories in recent UK history. Tune in to explore what this landmark win looks and feels like from the inside, why Sarah believes that ordinary people can drive extraordinary change, and celebrating the recent news of her 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize win in Europe, alongside five other women. Check out the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize Winners: https://www.goldmanprize.org/current-winners/ Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatecuriouspod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@climatecuriouspod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMA…
People in this episode
Host: Ben Hurst
Guest: Sarah Finch
Topics covered
- climate change
- grassroots activism
- legal victories
- environmental policy
- community engagement
Keywords
- climate victory
- Finch ruling
- environmental impact
- grassroots campaign
- Supreme Court
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Weald Action Group, UK government, Goldman Environmental Prize, TEDxLondon
Places: Surrey
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