Climate threats to UK health and security show COP27 is vital
09 Nov 2022
Rishi Sunak is at the world climate talks after initially saying he’d be too busy to attend due to domestic matters. To help him get up to speed on the importance of COP27, we’ve set out the 6 big climate warnings from the week he became PM.
How well are the UK and the EU protecting nature?
Paul de Zylva04 Oct 2022
Nature is in crisis. The UK and EU must not preside over another lost decade of delay and destruction.
Air pollution in local authority areas spreadsheet
01 Oct 202252 kB XLSX file
This spreadsheet lists the number and proportion of very high air pollution neighbourhoods grouped by local authority area. It includes data on NO2, PM10 and PM2.5 levels in comparison with World Health Organization guidelines. Download the spreadsheet for more information.
Air pollution and schools spreadsheet
01 Oct 2022120 kB XLSX file
This spreadsheet lists the schools that are in neighbourhoods with very high air pollution, grouped by local authority area. Download the spreadsheet for more information.
Which neighbourhoods have the worst air pollution?
01 Oct 2022
Air pollution poses a serious threat to lives and livelihoods. Find out which neighbourhoods in England and Wales have the highest levels of air pollution and how the impacts of dirty air are unfairly distributed across society.
Councils and the energy crisis - a plan of action
22 Aug 20221.18 MB PDF file
A report by the New Economics Foundation for Friends of the Earth identifying how and council could address the energy crisis with the right support from the government, including costings.
Energy crisis hotspot spreadsheet
Toby Bridgeman22 Aug 202227 kB XLSX file
This data includes the number of energy crisis hotspots - lower than average income, higher than average energy use - by local authority area, plus data on the number of homes within these that require loft or cavity wall insulation, plus the average current energy bills for Autumn/Winter 2022 following recent policy announcements.
Why the energy crisis demands street-by-street energy saving measures
Mike Childs22 Aug 2022
Mike Childs explains why the UK needs to roll out an energy saving programme, starting with the 8,927 neighbourhoods most in need.
Data on loft and cavity wall insulation
22 Aug 2022126 kB XLSX file
Download this spreadsheet to access data on homes that need loft insulation or cavity wall insulation by local authority area.
A lack of “suitable areas” for onshore wind in local plans
18 Aug 2022
Onshore wind is one of the cheapest forms of renewable energy, but the UK's national planning policy still doesn't facilitate new onshore wind projects. Read our report to find out more.
Why 2020-30 is a make-or-break decade for climate and nature
Paul de Zylva20 Jul 2022
We face a climate emergency and nature is in crisis – what will it take for our leaders to do the right thing?
Ever-decreasing circles: 5 major warnings of nature’s catastrophic decline
Paul de Zylva20 Jul 2022
“The essential, interconnected web of life on Earth is getting smaller and increasingly frayed.”
Using planning policies to prevent future fossil fuel projects
14 Jul 2022
In early 2022, Friends of the Earth’s Planning Team secured some key policy amendments to mineral plans in North Yorkshire and Northumberland which will hopefully discourage new fossil fuel projects in those areas. Planner Magnus Gallie explains.
Who suffers most from heatwaves in the UK?
13 Jul 2022
New research identifies the communities most vulnerable to the health impacts of heatwaves.
Why we need more trees in the UK
Mike Childs, Paul de Zylva and Nick Rau22 Jun 20226.52 MB PDF file
More trees are needed to cool our cities, to make farming resilient, to restore nature, and to replace the UK's imports of timber which are having a devastating impact on wildlife-rich forests overseas. Can it be done, and done fairly? And how many more trees are needed?