The Green Alliance Podcast

Five years after Brexit, we take a moment to reflect on its impact on environmental protection. This episode of the Green Alliance podcast explores the fate of environmental laws inherited from the EU and the new systems put in place to watch over them.

Ruth Chambers, Green Alliance senior fellow, is joined by Professor Maria Lee, an expert in environmental law, and Dame Glenys Stacey, Chair of the Office for Environmental Protectio...

In this episode, you'll hear highlights from our recent "in conversation" event with Guy Shrubsole where he and our head of natural environment, Lydia Collas, discussed his latest book “The Lie of the Land: Who Really Cares for the Countryside?”.

The book examines some of the most dramatic failures of land stewardship in Britain’s recent history. But also tells the story of the people trying to pick up the pieces, the small scale fa...

In this week's episode of the Green Alliance podcast, we dive into the UK’s evolving transport policy discussion with Green Alliance's head of climate, Nick Davies. The conversation covers recent developments on the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate and the launch of the Integrated National Transport Strategy.

Nick chats with experts including Michael Solomon Williams from Campaign for Better Transport, cycling journalist and auth...

In this episode, Libby Peake, senior fellow and head of resources policy, sits down with Emily Carr, policy adviser, alongside members of Green Alliance’s Circular Economy Task Force, including our chair, Dr Colin Church, CEO of IOM3, Iain Gulland, CEO of Zero Waste Scotland, Harriet Lamb, CEO of WRAP, and Dr Adam Read, Director of External Affairs at SUEZ, to discuss the circular economy and what the new government needs to do to ...

In this episode, Ruth Chambers, senior fellow, sits down with crossbench Peer Lord Krebs and Richard Benwell, chief executive of Wildlife & Countryside Link, to discuss the third anniversary of the Environment Act.

In this conversation, our guests reflect on the colossal team effort required to get the Act onto the statute book, the standout moments from parliamentary debates and the collaboration between parliamentarians and campai...

In this episode, Rosie Allen, policy adviser at Green Alliance, sits down with Liam Hardy, our senior policy analyst, and Jenniffer Pedraza, a research associate at Stockholm Environment Institute Research, to discuss the need to raise ambition on methane ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan (COP29).

The conversation offers both domestic and international perspectives on the increased leadership ...

The Green Alliance podcast is back with its fortnightly episodes for a six-episode series.

In this episode, Green Alliance's head of politics, Holly Brazier Tope, reflects on the first 100 days of the new Labour government, marking a pivotal shift after over a decade of Conservative leadership.

Holly first sits down with Chris Venables, director of politics at Green Alliance, to discuss how things are going from an external viewpoint...

In this episode, you’ll hear highlights from our recent “in conversation” event with Tom Heap where he and our executive director Shaun Spiers discussed his latest book “Land Smart: how to give people and nature the space to thrive”.

This book examines why we need land and how to give both humanity and nature the space to thrive, and includes conversations with farmers, scientists, conservationists and even warehouse managers who ar...

The actions taken over the next five years by the incoming Government will be make or break for the UK’s climate and nature targets – the stakes could not be higher.

This podcast episode features highlights from the final event in our Election countdown series 'Election debrief – what now for the environment?' where we we analysed the results of the election and what they mean for the environmental agenda. Executive director Shaun S...

Nature underpins our economy, but this is not currently reflected in economic decision making.

The Dasgupta Review, commissioned by the UK Treasury and published in 2021, sets out the strong case for changing our economic system to reflect that it does not exist outside of nature, but within it. It shows that, to prevent ongoing environmental destruction in the name of economic progress, we must use a measure of wealth that includes...

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 sales of petrol and diesel cars and ...

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 rates to try and get inflation down clo...

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 rewards polluters and lacks the incentives...

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 show how the economics of circularity st...

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 challenge, the initiatives underway and ...