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Tag Archives: Climate change

Where failure is not an option: four tests for the Glasgow climate summit

Posted on 10 February, 2021 by Shaun Spiers Leave a comment

This is an important year for the climate, culminating in the UN COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. The task for this conference is to close the emissions gap to arrest global warming; build the world’s resilience, especially as we recover from the Covid pandemic; and agree measures to compensate poorer countries for the damage climate change is already causing. All the evidence shows that time is running out to turn the tide on the climate crisis. So, as the hosts of COP26, as well as the G7, the spotlight is on the UK government to lead international efforts on climate change in 2021. That work began last year, it must now be significantly increased, starting today, in the run up to COP26, and will need to last well beyond the Glasgow summit in November.

Was 2020 a green ‘super year’ for the UK?

Posted on 4 January, 2021 by James Fotherby One comment

At the start of last year, 2020 was heralded by world leaders, green campaigners and businesses alike as a ‘super year’ for the environment and a ‘make or break year’ for lining up climate and nature action in the new decade. The coronavirus pandemic, of course, has severely disrupted how we hoped the year would pan out, namely in the postponement of the UN biodiversity summit (COP15) and the Glasgow climate summit (COP26). However, despite those COP shaped holes, there has still been movement on climate globally, with Japan, China, the EU and South Korea – covering almost half of global emissions – following the UK’s lead to make mid-century net zero targets, and the US is likely to follow suit once President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

Political leadership

The US election and climate action: two very different scenarios for the future

Posted on 2 November, 2020 by Holly Rowden Leave a comment

An unprecedented number of mail-in ballots means we could be in for an uncomfortable wait for the result of the US presidential election. The polls suggest that Joe Biden is the frontrunner, although the race is too close to call in many battleground states. The significance of this election for global efforts to tackle the climate crisis cannot be overstated. This year is set to be the warmest year on record, while this summer saw wildfires ravage California and tropical storms hitting the Gulf Coast. The US has contributed more CO₂ emissions than any other country and continues to generate the highest emissions per capita. This election is a pivotal moment. So what do the two possible scenarios have in store?

Climate change

The UK shouldn’t miss out on the full power of smart technology to build a greener future

Posted on 21 October, 2020 by Caterina Brandmayr One comment

After a successful few months since its launch in March this year, Tees Flex recently announced plans to expand to new destinations in the Tees Valley. This on-demand bus service has provided a convenient option for people to get to work or school, or visit their doctor, using a smart mobility app. This innovation is helping to get people out of their cars, reducing congestion and carbon emissions.

Low carbon future

Carbon pricing might not be trendy but it’s needed for a low carbon economy

Posted on 8 October, 2020 by Green Alliance blog 2 comments

This post is by Hannah Dillon, head of the Zero Carbon Campaign.

There are many things uncertain about post-Brexit Britain, but indecision around how pollution will be priced beyond December could have serious implications, both for the implementation of a green recovery from Covid-19, and the realisation of the UK’s 2050 net zero carbon target.

Low carbon future

What history tells us about how we are dealing with climate change

Posted on 16 September, 2020 by Shaun Spiers 2 comments

To make climate change real to people, a first order priority rather than an afterthought, we need to tell stories, stories about what is already happening and stories about what will happen as temperatures continue to rise. But for some people, telling the story of what happened in the past when temperatures changed by just a couple of degrees Celsius will do the trick.

Climate change

“The view of our company is clear: the time to act is now”

Posted on 21 May, 2020 by Green Alliance blog Leave a comment

This post is by Peter Simpson, CEO of Anglian Water.

Tackling coronavirus is rightly the current priority of governments, healthcare institutions, individuals and business. Key workers, like the team here at Anglian Water, have stepped up, keeping taps running, toilets flushing and drains draining. Read more

What is COVID-19 teaching us about solving the climate crisis?

Posted on 1 April, 2020 by Libby Peake 3 comments

COVID-19 has rapidly changed the world we live in, as governments rightly prioritise our safety and wellbeing and ask us all to stay home. One of the upshots, for those of us lucky enough to be well, is that we now have plenty of time to reflect. Read more

We can’t shy away from the need for radical change

Posted on 27 November, 2019 by Rebecca Willis Leave a comment

Green Alliance and I grew up together. We’re both children of the 1970s, a decade which, according to the New Economics Foundation’s happiness index, included Britain’s happiest year, 1976. Though incomes have risen since then, so have environmental impacts and social inequality, hence their argument that Britain peaked in the mid-seventies. Read more

Is Twitter indicating a change in MPs’ views on climate change?

Posted on 1 October, 2019 by Green Alliance blog One comment

This post is by Rhian Ebrey. It is based on her research as a masters student at the University of Leeds.

I think that, writing this following the biggest global climate strike ever, it’s safe to say I’m not alone in feeling a growing dread with each successive IPCC report predicting the urgency of the global climate crisis. And yet, this urgency does not appear to be shared by everyone. I feel helpless and frustrated as world leaders appear hesitant to commit to the necessary changes needed to save our future and the planet. But the growing awareness of shared alarm and frustration, embodied through Greta Thunberg’s refreshingly direct speech at the UN’s COP24 climate conference last year, has sparked a social revolution, with prominent grassroots movements, including Extinction Rebellion and the Youth Strikes, growing around the world.

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