The Green Alliance Podcast

In this episode, Steve Coulter, Green Alliance’s head of economy, speaks to experts about why the UK is crying out for a green industrial strategy. Industrial strategies are driving change around the world, in the US, EU and China, but the UK has yet to follow suit. Green industrial strategy is more than just switching from carbon to electric power, it must encompass a broader vision integrating e...

The benefits and challenges of participatory policy making are discussed with Stephen Frost, Co-Head of Participative Research and Principal Research Fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research. Many climate experts have expressed the need to bring people along in the transition to net zero, ensuring it is one of social justice. The use of participatory research methods and policy making pr...

How can inclusive policy making change policy outcomes? When individuals’ power and privilege often correlate with emission outputs, it is important to consider those involved in environmental policy making. Involving the public in policy making that impacts them often leads to ‘better’ policy and less backlash, yet it isn’t something think tanks consistently do. In this conversation Hirra explore...

Including those impacted by policy in the policy making process is not always a given. Green Alliance has been exploring how and why policy makers should be inclusive of the public, marginalised communities and communities that typically have not been sought out for engagement and implementation processes of environmental policy. The importance of think tanks and NGOs having inclusive policy makin...

Provisional figures from 2022 show a rise in transport emissions compared to the year previous. And while the transport system is already the largest emitting sector across the UK economy, this is a major obstacle for policymakers in their bid to reach net zero by 2050.   In the last year, transport entered the political arena in a way not seen before. There were contradictory announcements on the...

Inflation hit a 41 year high in 2022. This was largely driven by high gas prices due to the war in Ukraine. Although that gas price spike is dropping out of inflation now, inflation is nowhere near pre-war levels and neither are energy bills. What is the policy response? Interest rates are currently at a 15 year high, the highest they've been since 2008. The Bank of England is raising interest rat...

The tax system is a major tool in the government’s arsenal when it comes to shaping the world we live in. It can be used to enforce policy aims, stimulate solutions to societal challenges and discourage adverse behaviours. However, the potential of the tax system to drive a green economy has barely been tapped into. As it stands, the UK tax system is geared towards a high carbon economy. It reward...

Reducing raw material consumption in the UK is essential to meeting climate targets. Circular businesses can offer a host of environmental benefits as well as saving money for consumers and bringing in just as much, if not more, profit than linear companies. Our report ' Ready steady grow: how the Treasury can mainstream circular business ' looks at case studies from ten circular businesses to sho...

One of the biggest challenges for getting the UK to net zero is building enough grid infrastructure. This is also essential to improve energy security and bring down bills for households. Grid is repeatedly cited as one of the biggest blockers to fast decarbonisation. So what are the obstacles? Regen's new report ' Building a GB electricity network ready for net zero ' explores the scale of the ch...

Air pollution is one of the most pressing issues faced by London today. Affecting both public health and the environment, improving air quality is essential to making the city a safer and more sustainable place to live. So how can this be achieved? Shirley Rodrigues, London's Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, is working to deliver an environmental strategy for the city which will tackle air...

The UK has shown strong climate leadership by setting a 2030 phase out date for ICE vehicles. But how can the automotive manufacturing sector secure a thriving electric vehicle supply chain in the UK? In this episode, Emma McKelvie speaks with Ian Constance, chief executive of the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) . The APC provides funding and support to organisations across the electric vehicle s...

The anticipated UK government's Energy Security Day on 30 March 2023 left much to be desired. While progress was made for heat pumps and the zero emission vehicles mandate, and the government seems to have abided by the High Court’s ruling, the UK's overall ambition to reduce emissions largely remained unchanged. In this special edition of the Green Alliance podcast, our research director Roz Bull...

Amidst a quickly evolving global political landscape, the scope of the green transition is constantly changing.   Dr Nathalie Tocci is director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali and author of 'A Green and Global Europe', a book which affirms the inevitability of the green transition in Europe but sets out its complex social, economic and geopolitical challenges. Dr Tocci argues that these must...

The new Labour Climate and Environment Forum (LCEF) launched in December 2022 with the aim of strengthening climate and environmental ambition across the labour movement. But how does the organisation plan to achieve its goals? LCEF’s debut report uses polling to show that Labour MPs are viewed more favourably by voters when talking about their support for environmental issues. With a UK general e...

In 2021, 95 per cent of global trade was moved by sea. If you look around you, it's likely that the nearby furniture, technology, or at least the parts that made them were at some point in a shipping container heading overseas. In comparison to other modes of transport, however, shipping is often overlooked when it comes to decarbonisation. The shipping sector already has a tool to make the system...

What's on parliament's transport agenda this year? As a cross party body, the transport select committee plays an important role in scrutinising the government's transport policy. Following the publication of Chris Skidmore MP's Net zero review , transport decarbonisation will be a key priority for the committee. But how does the committee work to hold the government to account? In this episode Al...

Rising prices and falling wages are driving the cost of living crisis, making it harder for people to heat their homes and travel to work or appointments. By the end of 2022, more than 6 million UK households were living in fuel poverty while increasing public transport and petrol prices drove many households into transport poverty. This comes at a time when the UK urgently needs to cut greenhouse...

What is the role of business in halting and reversing the decline of nature? At COP15 and COP27 this year, the interests of the private sector at these summits came under some scrutiny. There are concerns about large corporations having an outsize influence on international environmental agreements. To better understand the intention of businesses at summits like COP15, Jim Elliott speaks to Melis...

COP15 is a long awaited global moment for biodiversity. Countries around the world are joining together to agree on a new set of nature targets for the next decade. After two years of delay due to COVID-19, there is hope that COP15 will see meaningful action taken to end biodiversity loss.  In this episode, Lydia Collas speaks to Patrick Greenfield , a reporter for The Guardian , who is in Montrea...

The cost of energy has soared over the past year. As well as protecting consumers and industry from the higher energy bills, the UK government must address the root causes of the problem: the global price of gas. The current electricity market is designed for a commodity based system which reflects the fluctuating price of gas. However, as renewables make up a bigger proportion of our electricity...

Electrical waste (ewaste) is the fastest growing waste stream in the world. The UK is the second highest producer of ewaste globally, throwing away 350,000 tonnes of electricals a year. From smartphones to single use vapes, disposable culture is contributing to an increasing environmental problem. It is estimated that 1.3 million vapes are thrown away each week in the UK. Aside from these environm...

As part of its Net zero strategy and transport decarbonisation plans, the UK government is seeking to introduce a new zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate soon to boost the electric vehicle market.  Ambitious targets are essential to achieve climate goals while also attracting new investment and securing market share to make the most of the UK’s transition to electric vehicles. Leading the world o...

The urgent need to tackle the climate and nature emergency is changing how we manage land, leading to new farming practices, more tree planting and the restoration of natural habitats. But private investment in these changes can be controversial, with some local communities worried that change is being imposed on them by corporations. In this episode, we discuss two approaches which seek to avoid...

Since World War Two, farming has been synonymous with growing as much food as possible. In wealthy countries, this has led to overabundance which is driving environmental and human health problems. We now know we need land to provide more than just food. As well as producing healthy and sustainable food, farmers must be empowered to rise to the challenge of offering restored habitats, carbon remov...

People are bracing themselves for extraordinary energy bills this winter, driven by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Our homes are notoriously bad at keeping in heat and upgrading their insulation is a way to permanently reduce energy use. Although there will be savings in energy bills over the medium term, the upfront costs of upgrading a home’s energy efficiency can be significant. Support is av...