Environmental justice

How Britain’s bus services have drastically declined

28 Nov 2023

New research shows that, while London has been spared, bus services have been slashed throughout the rest of the country. Find out who’s worst impacted.

Friends of the Earth’s demands for the general election

07 Nov 2023

We're demanding urgent climate and nature action from all political parties. Find out what we're calling for them to commit to in their election manifestos.

Urban cooling by trees and green spaces - research findings

12 Jul 202317.84 MB PDF file

New research for 5 English cities shows that trees and green spaces cool some neighbourhoods by up to 5 degrees. This research document includes heat maps for these cities, alongside a description of the cooling provided and the research methodology used.

Data on neighbourhoods, flooding and social vulnerability

30 Apr 20232.66 MB XLSX file

This spreadsheet provides data by neighbourhoods (LSOAs) in England and Wales on their exposure to flood risk and whether the population is particularly socially vulnerable to flooding.

Who’s impacted by fuel poverty in 2023?

20 Mar 2023

We’ve identified who’ll be in fuel poverty across England and Wales in 2023, including some pen portraits. See the results and methodology of our data analysis in this briefing.

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.

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.

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?

Is the government's levelling up plan any good?

Sandra Bell10 May 2022

The UK government has made levelling up a priority. Senior Sustainability Analyst Sandra Bell sets out 5 tests to assess the strength of the government’s approach and whether it will help the poorest communities. As the government's programme progresses, including draft legislation following the Queen’s Speech, Friends of the Earth will use these tests to report on progress.

Environment Act won’t halt deforestation or protect human rights

Clare Oxborrow06 Jan 2022

Commodity supply chains are trashing forests and trampling human rights. Clare Oxborrow explains why the government’s new Environment Act will fail to protect communities and why it must take effective action to regulate UK companies.

Rank of fuel poverty neighbourhoods by LA

17 Nov 202137 kB XLSX file

Data on levels of fuel poverty in neighbourhoods by local authority area.

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.