Author Archives: Green Alliance blog

We need to reset the role of ELMS

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intext=-farmingThis post is by Guy Thompson, Group Director of Environmental Futures at Wessex Water, Managing Director of EnTrade, an online marketplace in accredited environmental services and a founding Director of Natural England.

The government’s commitment to restore the environment within a generation will depend on transformative change in land management. Over the last six months, the government has been consulting on the design of the Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme, the principal lever by which it will deliver this transformation. Read more

Racing to the top: the green agenda in the Lib Dem leadership election

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intext-lib-dem-blogThis post is by Joe Dodd, vice chair of the Green Liberal Democrats.

After an initial decision to delay the Liberal Democrat leadership election for a year due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, the party decided to go ahead with the contest under lockdown conditions. Since the party’s spokesperson for the climate emergency, Wera Hobhouse, MP pulled out, it has been a two horse race between the education spokesperson Layla Moran MP and the acting co-leader Sir Ed Davey MP. Read more

Why we must keep the highest standard of water quality in the UK, even if it’s hard to do

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in-RIVERThis post is by Dr Stewart Clarke, The National Trust’s national specialist on freshwater, catchments and estuary management.

There has been a sense of unease amongst those of us working for better rivers, lakes and estuaries this week. Sir James Bevan’s (Environment Agency CEO) speech at the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry questioned the implementation, if not the ambition, of the EU Water Framework Directive which has provided a governance framework for managing and protecting our water bodies since 2000. Read more

Could the new planning proposals be an accidental recipe for accelerating nature’s decline?

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intext-crest-blogThis post is by Kate Jennings, head of site conservation policy at RSPB

When it comes to how we protect nature one thing is absolutely clear: we need to do more. As the State of nature report says, the UK is one of the most nature depleted countries on earth, and the steps taken to protect the best and to restore the rest have simply failed to address the problem at anything like the scale needed. Read more

Getting people back onto public transport is key to getting the country moving again

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intext-trainThis post is by Darren Shirley, chief executive of Campaign for Better Transport

Covid-19 changed transport overnight. As travel during lockdown was reduced to essential journeys only, cars and public transport were ditched in favour of walking and cycling, and the reduction in road traffic led to immediate air quality improvements.  Read more

Five ideas to put sustainable food at the heart of a green recovery

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intext-chickensThis piece is by Ruth Wescott, climate and nature emergency and sustainable fish cities co-ordinator at Sustain.

The public overwhelmingly wants a green recovery from Covid-19. Last month a report and poll from the UK’s Citizen’s Assemblies found that 80 per cent supported Covid recovery policies that bring the UK to net zero greenhouse gas emissions, findings supported by RSPB research Read more

People expect a green recovery, it’s up to the government now to deliver it

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This post is by Sam Hall, director of the Conservative Environment Network

Earlier this month the chancellor committed to deliver a green recovery with “concern for our environment at its heart”. He backed this up with a new £3 billion scheme to make homes, schools, and hospitals more energy efficient. This ambition is in tune with the public mood, as recent polling for the Conservative Environment Network (CEN) shows. Read more

The importance of collaboration and legal expertise in the genesis of the Environment Bill

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intext-blog2This post is by Professor Maria Lee, co-director of the Centre for Law and the Environment at UCL, and Dr Carolyn Abbot, Senior Lecturer in law at the University of Manchester. Maria has been a member of the Greener UK Brexit Scenarios Group.

There are important stories to be told about the shaping of the Brexit debate by the environmental NGO community, and about the place of legal expertise in that debate. We have been exploring these stories Read more

The least we should expect of business is to call out the failure of the system

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This post is by‘Jonathon Porritt, founder director of Forum for the Future.

For the past 25 years of my life, I’ve been an uncompromising advocate of the benefits of NGOs working with business rather than working against business, in order to accelerate the transition to a genuinely sustainable economy. I still am, but not in the same way, and absolutely not on the same terms. Read more

Reactions to the speech by Environment Secretary George Eustice

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CaptureOn Monday 20 July, Green Alliance hosted online the first major speech on the environment by the Rt Hon George Eustice MP, Defra secretary of state. You can read the full speech, watch the event on our YouTube channel or listen to the highlights on our podcast.

Here are reactions to what he said, on funding, the Environment Bill, trade and the UK’s global role, from leading environmental campaigners: Read more

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