This post was first published in Business Green
The Environment Bill makes a welcome return to Parliament next week in a prime slot after Prime Minister’s questions. It is wide-ranging and includes important measures on four critical foundations of our natural environment: nature, air, water and resources and waste. But its lasting legacy will be a new environmental governance system for England and Northern Ireland. Read more
It was great to celebrate the birthday of the Climate Change Act last week, much admired and copied round the world since its inception ten years ago. The UK climate community deserves a moment of satisfaction that we brought about, and have sustained for a decade, a brilliant piece of legislation. Read more
Ten years ago something happened in parliament that needs to be celebrated. Something that showed the UK as truly innovative and a global leader. Read more
This blog was first published by Business Green.
The unprecedented, prolonged heatwave that Britain and much of the northern hemisphere is experiencing seems to have brought climate change, albeit temporarily, to the forefront of our public and political discourse. A timely report from the Environmental Audit Committee has warned there will be 7,000 heat-related deaths every year in the UK by 2050, triple today’s rate, if we do not take further action. Former energy and climate secretary Amber Rudd penned a Times op-ed stating climate change is here and rising global temperatures are already baked in. But the thrust of her argument was that a madcap approach to Brexit could unravel Britain’s ambitious climate goals. Addressing climate change, she said, requires “co-operation, shared sovereignty and internationalism.”
Now that the dust has settled after the referendum and the new government is in place, it’s a good point to take stock and consider what Brexit will mean for UK national environment policy.
Here, our policy experts give their insights on the likely impact and challenges of different scenarios in the three areas of our work: climate and energy, natural environment and resources.
This post is by Green Alliance associate Rebecca Willis. It was first posted on her blog.
Goodbye, DECC. I’ve known you for eight years. In that time, you created a world-leading system of national carbon budgeting, and oversaw an impressive growth of renewable energy. It wasn’t always easy – you were a minnow in the Whitehall ocean, and the site of many a pitched battle during the Coalition years. But you fought hard to demonstrate the benefits of a low carbon transition for the UK. Read more
This post is by Green Alliance associate Rebecca Willis. It also appears on her website.
Yesterday, the prime minister was directly asked the question that we’ve all been waiting for: is the UK’s domestic climate policy compatible with the Climate Change Act, and the new Paris Agreement? Read more
