Category Archives: Political leadership

The people have spoken: they want a fairer, greener country

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This post is by Joshua Emden, research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).

If you put people at the heart of efforts to solve the climate and nature crises, then opportunity abounds. This is the core message presented by the final report of IPPR’s Environmental Justice Commission, Fairness and Opportunity.

But this didn’t just come from think tank policy researchers. Rather, it’s a message of hope and warning from people across the country whose lives will inevitably be affected both by the climate crisis itself and the policy responses to it.

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It’s time the government took metro mayors seriously as partners in meeting national climate goals

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This post was first published in London Government Chronicle.

Since their introduction in the mid-2010s, it is fair to say that metro mayors have never enjoyed greater public and political visibility than they do currently after a series of recent political dramas. These include Andy Burnham’s spectacular showdown with Number 10 over compensation for three tier restrictions, Tracy Brabin’s victory in becoming the first mayor of West Yorkshire, triggering a hard fought by-election in her former seat of Batley and Spen, and the prime minister seemingly forgetting the name of the then sitting Conservative mayor of West England, Tim Bowles. Together with the day-to-day management of the regional pandemic response, these moments have demonstrated the capability of metro mayors, as well as their potency in influencing Westminster politics. 

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Green Alliance’s new strategy 2021–24: turning ambition into action

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This post is by Belinda Gordon, strategy director at Green Alliance.

Three years may not seem a long time but, given what we’ve been through, 2018 seems like a whole different era. And I don’t just mean because of the pandemic. The political, environmental and social context Green Alliance is working in now, compared to when our last strategy was published, is starkly different.

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G7 spending billions on fossil fuels isn’t the way to ‘build back better’

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This post is by Dr Ruth Valerio, Tearfund’s global advocacy and influencing director.

As the host of both the G7 Leaders’ Summit this weekend and the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow later this year, the UK has the opportunity and the mandate to show climate leadership. G7 countries’ pledges to ‘build back better’ from the pandemic were a welcome signal, but our new report shows that this once in a generation opportunity has not yet been taken.

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Why the UK needs to clean up its power sector by 2035

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This post is by Ben Westerman, freelance policy adviser at Green Alliance.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently released its roadmap on reaching a net zero global energy system by 2050. Its message was clear: current pledges by governments around the world fall well short of what is needed to reduce emissions fast enough to reach net zero by 2050 and prevent global temperatures rising above one and a half degrees.

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Net zero: an update from the transport committee

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Green Alliance is tracking the UK’s net zero policy progress in key areas of government throughout this year. This week we are featuring a series of daily blogs in which we hear from the chairs of five parliamentary select committees, who answer our questions about the progress being made in their committee’s area of interest. This post is by Huw Merriman MP, chair of the Transport Select Committee.

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Net zero: an update from the business, energy and industrial strategy committee

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Green Alliance is tracking the UK’s net zero policy progress in key areas of government throughout this year. This week we are featuring a series of daily blogs in which we hear from the chairs of five parliamentary select committees, who answer our questions about the progress being made in their committee’s area of interest. This post is by Darren Jones MP, chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee.

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Scotland has put a just transition at the heart of government

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This post is by Jim Skea, chair of Scottish Just Transition Commission and professor of sustainable  energy at Imperial College London. He writes here in a personal capacity.

There are two very good reasons for bringing justice to the heart of the net zero transition. The principled reason is that it is simply the right thing to do. Sweeping changes to society and the economy will be required, and it is right that climate action is steered by, and responds to, people’s needs and aspirations. The second reason is pragmatic. Change on this scale will not happen without broad social consent. There needs to be a shared perception that the transition is fair and costs are shared equitably.

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Net zero: an update from the environmental audit committee

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Green Alliance is tracking the UK’s net zero policy progress in key areas of government throughout this year. This week we are featuring a series of daily blogs in which we hear from the chairs of five parliamentary select committees, who answer our questions about the progress being made in their committee’s area of interest. This first post is by Phillip Dunne MP, chair of the Environment Audit Committee.

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