The Green Alliance Podcast

The UK was the first major economy in the world to commit to a legally binding target to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. However, transport is devolved and the approach to delivering net zero has varied between the countries of the UK. Road infrastructure investment increases traffic, exacerbating congestion and air pollution, resulting in higher levels of operational and e...

The government’s net zero carbon goal can’t be achieved by central government alone, local authorities are essential partners in the bringing about the changes needed.  Local leaders around the country, from district councils to metro mayors, are leading the way. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority has set its net zero target 12 years ahead of the national target, aiming for 2038.  In this e...

“We’re not on track to achieve what governments have agreed” warns Nick Eyre, professor of energy and climate policy at Oxford University and one of the authors of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report. In this episode, Caterina Brandmayr, head of climate policy at Green Alliance, speaks to Nick about the importance of the report’s findings and what it tells...

Achieving net zero means changing how we travel. That means switching from petrol and diesel vehicles to electric cars, walking and cycling for shorter journeys and flying less. But how we move cargo in a net zero world is not the same question as how we move people. Innovation in transport need not be limited to speed and efficiency. Understanding more about what motivates us and how we perceive...

In 2021, the UK hosted the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow and the government published its net zero strategy, setting out how it will meet its target for net zero carbon emissions by 2050. But in 2022, with inflation at a 30 year high,  gas prices rising and the war in Ukraine, the cost of living crisis is at the top of the political agenda. Some voices are calling for more North Sea oil and...

Unlike nuclear fission, which has been part of our energy mix for decades, we’re on the cusp of a nuclear fusion breakthrough. Nuclear fusion is the same energy process that powers the stars, and could lead to boundless energy capacity in the future. In this fascinating chat between Green Alliance senior policy adviser Helena Bennett and Melanie Windridge , we learn about how fusion works and how...

Along with flying and agriculture, steelmaking is firmly in the tricky box when it comes to the low carbon transition. Steelmaking was at the heart of Britain's industrial revolution and is still used in everything from bridges to fridges. Most of the UK’s steel production is very carbon intensive, still relying on coal and a chemical reaction with carbon dioxide as an unavoidable by-product. But...

Veganuary is an annual challenge that urges people to go vegan for the month of January. Since it started in 2014, the number of people taking on the challenge has skyrocketed. In 2022, over 600,000 signed up. There are many good reasons to consider eating more plant-based food and cutting back on meat and dairy. Animal agriculture drives deforestation that exacerbates climate change, while the me...

For nearly three decades, the United Nations has brought together world leaders, negotiators, government representatives, businesses, and citizens for global climate summits called COPs to track progress in tackling climate change.  Back in 2015, world leaders signed the Paris Agreement, aiming to limit global temperature rises as close as possible to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels and av...

As the single biggest source of UK carbon emissions, the transport sector is critical to getting the UK on track for net zero by 2050. Getting more people using public transport is a vital part of this transition. But, a new report by the Centre for Cities, finds that just investing in better public transport isn’t enough. Our urban areas are less dense than comparable cities in Europe, making pub...

As the UK hosts COP26 in Glasgow, climate and environmental policy in the UK has never been a hotter topic.  The UK government has finally published the long-awaited plan for achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 while the London media has relocated to Glasgow for the climate conference. The prime minister’s slogan of “coal, car, cash and trees” has resulted in a focus on electric vehicles,...

At the Labour Party conference in September 2021, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves declared she wanted to be Britain's first 'green chancellor'. However, the current chancellor has the reins of the economy and could quickly put himself in pole position in the race to be green chancellor. In this episode, Sam Alvis, Green Alliance’s head of green renewal, speaks to leading economist Dr Matthew Agarw...

Green Alliance’s senior political adviser, Joe Tetlow, speaks to Conservative backbench MP Bim Afolami. With the chancellor’s spending review due in late October 2021 and the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November 2021, the government is under pressure to set out how it will get the country to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. They discuss what needs to happen to achieve 100 per cent clean p...

Shaun Spiers speaks to Hilary Benn MP about the IPPR Environmental Justice Commission’s recent findings. The discussion covers green jobs, how the UK can meet its climate targets and create a fairer economy, and Labour’s role in the net zero debate. Hilary Benn co-chairs IPPR’s Environmental Justice Commission,  established in May 2019, which has focused on addressing the climate crisis and restor...

Our head of resources Libby Peake spends a lot of time thinking about plastic. But she also knows that – we need to be thinking about more than just plastic. Everyone knows that the world has a problem with plastic pollution. People are right to be concerned and demand that we protect ecosystems and human and animal health from what has been described as a “global scourge”. But in searching for so...

As the UK prepares to host the COP26 conference in Glasgow later this year, UK politics on net zero is looking increasingly difficult and divided. The consensus that net zero should be a political and spending priority of the government is beginning to fray at the seams, from the backbenches to the very top.  How we heat our homes in a net zero economy is seen as one of the most politically diffic...

The government commissioned Henry Dimbleby, founder the Leon restaurant chain, to conduct a review of our food system. Part one of this National Food Strategy review was published last May with a focus on food inequality.  Part two was published this summer and contained recommendations such as guaranteeing funding for farmers, and the development of a rural land use framework to advise on the bes...

You can also watch the event on YouTube or listen to the podcast from our previous event on racism in the environment sector here .

If you want to learn more about Green Alliance’s work on green jobs, read our report on how the government can unlock thousands of green jobs across many regions of the UK. You can also explore Public First research , commissioned by Green Alliance, into what people think about green jobs.

The event was chaired by Ruth Chambers, senior parliamentary affairs associate at Greener UK. Joining future generational commissioner for Wales Sophie Howe, in discussion were Caroline Lucas MP and climate justice activist Daze Aghaji. 

Libby Peake is head of resource policy at Green Alliance. She is lead author of our report Targeting success, which highlights the need for clear and ambitious goals to reduce resource use. Read the report . Kate Raworth is an economist and author of Doughnut economics , which proposes a ground-breaking new approach to the economy. She also co-founded the Doughnut Economics Action Lab and teaches...

Caterina Brandmayr is head of climate policy at Green Alliance. Cait Hewitt is the deputy director at the Aviation Environment Federation (AEF) , a not-for-profit campaigning organisation that focuses on the environmental impact of aviation. 

Sam Alvis is head of green renewal at Green Alliance and a former senior adviser at the Tony Blair Institute.  Anthony Browne is the MP for South Cambridgeshire and the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Environment. He is also a former journalist and director of the think tank Policy Exchange.  On they day they spoke, Green Alliance launched the latest update of the Net zero policy...

Ruth Chambers joined the Greener UK unit as senior parliamentary affairs associate leading the coalition's work on the Environment Bill.  Dame Glenys Stacey is the chair of the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) in the UK.