It’s been a dark start to 2026. In just the first few days of the year, global tensions have escalated again — from renewed threats of conflict between NATO and Russia, to Gaza remaining under rubble amid a so-called ceasefire that continues to claim Palestinian lives, to the chilling reassertion of imperial power elsewhere in the world. Last year, the Doomsday Clock was set at just 89 seconds to midnight — the closest it has ever been.

It really does feel dark out there.

And yet — perhaps surprisingly — I’m starting this year feeling hopeful.

Martin Luther King Jr once said, “I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.” And it’s the stars that are giving me hope right now.

By stars, I mean the people and community that make up South East London Community Energy. 2025 was a tough year for us. Funding dried up, and we had to make the difficult decision to reduce the size of our staff team. But despite this, our energy advice team continued to go the extra mile, supporting vulnerable households across South East London. We kept delivering award-winning retrofit advice and developed new ways of working with Lewisham Council to support the retrofit of council homes.

We’re also looking ahead. A new LED share offer is coming very soon, helping to dramatically cut the carbon footprint of a Lewisham school. And later this year, we hope to announce our largest ever community-financed solar share offer.

Over the past few months we’ve been joined by brilliant new colleagues, bringing fresh expertise, energy and commitment. With Nadia and Kate’s leadership as co-chairs, the organisation may be smaller — but it feels more focused, more resilient and more connected than ever.

If I’m honest, part of my optimism rests on a hunch that we’re approaching a social tipping point — a moment where small shifts in behaviour, values and expectations begin to cascade into something much bigger. It feels as though the anger and resentment shaping so much of our politics could yet be transformed into something constructive, collective and grounded in care for place and people.

I can’t influence the big geopolitical forces shaping the world right now. But I can help make change happen here, in South East London. And maybe — just maybe — this small corner of the world can act as a touchstone, showing what’s possible when communities are put at the heart of the energy transition.

As we move into our 12th year, I’ve never felt more confident in what Selce stands for: cleaner, greener local energy, shaped by and for communities, with no one left behind.

Here’s to a hopeful, determined and community-powered 2026.

— Giovanna Speciale, CEO, Selce.