2021 - A big year for climate, nature and poverty
Paul de Zylva03 Jun 2021
Will government and business leaders act on the triple emergency? Or will government and business-as-usual win?
Are England’s new plans for trees and peat fit for purpose?
Paul de Zylva20 May 2021
Like proverbial double decker buses, two major action plans have arrived at the same time. The government’s Peat and Trees Action Plans were expected, but are they worth the wait? Paul de Zylva picks the high, the lows, and points to what comes next.
Three things the government must do to end the peat scandal
Paul de Zylva21 Apr 2021
If the government wants other nations to step up to the climate and ecological crises, it must show a clean pair of hands on peat.
Aviation and climate change: our position
11 Mar 2021
Emissions from aviation continue to grow but need to fall. There are no technical fixes. Instead we need to curb frequent flying and stop airport expansion.
The climate crisis - how international trade must change
Kierra Box08 Feb 2021
Trade campaigner Kierra Box starts a conversation about which trade policy levers could deliver positive change and where politics needs to shift.
Faster, deeper and fairer carbon pollution cuts needed
Mike Childs27 Jan 2021
Faster, deeper and fairer cuts to carbon emissions than those recommended by the Climate Change Committee are possible and necessary.
Privatising the planning system - just for the few?
Naomi Luhde-Thompson, Senior Planner14 Jan 2021
Why proposed planning reforms are socially unjust and bad for climate change.
Climate emergency - how do local authorities get people out of their cars?
Mike Childs07 Jan 2021
Why making the right decisions about car use now can help local authorities on the pathway to net zero.
Why council action on climate is vital
Sandra Bell08 Dec 2020
Sandra Bell explains why local council action is vital to achieving a green recovery and net zero, and why the government must give them greater support as recommended by the Climate Change Committee.
Planning for the future - Friends of the Earth response to the White Paper
Naomi Luhde-Thompson, Kate Gordon12 Nov 2020
The government recently consulted on its proposed radical reforms to the planning system. We outlined our concerns that these will diminish local accountability, erode local democracy by curtailing the right of communities to influence planning and development in their area and fail to tackle the urgent climate and ecological emergencies.
How can government help English councils act on climate breakdown?
Sandra Bell28 Aug 2020
Local authorities can take some action on climate change but they could do so much more if the government empowered and enabled them.
Policies for green and fair recovery plans across the UK
14 Jul 2020
Right now, there's an unprecedented breadth of people, organisations, and businesses calling for COVID-19 recovery plans to be green and fair. We spell out the policy changes needed to deliver on this aspiration.
Nine principles for using our land wisely at a time of climate and nature crises
Sandra Bell01 May 2020
How we use our land sometimes seems like a 1000-piece jigsaw where we need to put the right pieces in the right places - to cut climate emissions and boost nature. It’s particularly tricky because there’s more than one correct way to complete it. In this article I propose 9 principles that fit with Friends of the Earth’s approach to tackling the climate and nature crises here and overseas – a guide to completing the jigsaw.
The EU-UK future trade relationship: our position
23 Apr 2020
Friends of the Earth sets out a broad vision of how the future EU-UK relationship can best serve our environment and society.
The role of hydrogen in our low-carbon transition
Mike Childs21 Apr 2020
Hydrogen fuel has long been hailed as the silver bullet that will free us from fossil fuels, but it's time for a reality check on its production and use in a low-carbon economy .