It’s hard to be a “tree-hugger”, but progressive politicians must try
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Energy and Climate Change
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The latest on climate change and energy
The Policy Ask with James Heath: “The UK has been very slow on decarbonising buildings”
The chief executive of the National Infrastructure Commission on remote working, devolution and the need to accelerate green energy…
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Even in a bear market, thematic investing can be a green catalyst
Innovative funds are helping sustainable supply chains and systems thrive.
Meet the workers that maintain the UK’s solar power
Ambitious plans to grow the UK’s solar capacity means more jobs in the sector.
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Just stop the need for Just Stop Oil, says climate adviser
A scathing report from the independent Climate Change Committee has condemned government’s slow progress.
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Britain is being left behind in the race for the jobs of the future
The government is ideologically opposed to industrial strategy, but this is essential for fostering green growth.
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Paul Nowak: “I fit every stereotype of a Daily Mail trade unionist”
The TUC general secretary on Labour, taxation, and the false promises of the green economy.
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A drinks industry for net zero
On our journey we've made progress – and learned many lessons.
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The opportunity cost of net zero
Great Britain has one chance to decarbonise the economy – let’s take it.
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To achieve net zero, Labour needs to break with market coordination
Public institutions such as GB Energy and the green National Wealth Fund must lead the green investment push.
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How Britain’s biggest natural battery can help deliver net zero
SSE wants to double the nation’s flexible electricity storage capacity.
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Using AI and robotics to help tackle Britain’s biggest nuclear challenge
New technologies are making decommissioning the Sellafield nuclear site safer, faster and cheaper.
A circular economy isn’t enough – we also need to consume less
Why the Swedish concept of “lagom” could prove key to tackling emissions excess.
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The carbon offsetting system is out of touch with reality
An investigation has found that many of the carbon credits on the market do nothing for the climate at…
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To make carbon offsets work, we have to account for their uncertain impact
Carbon credits face powerful interests and complex science – we must assess the evidence.
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The Policy Ask with Michael Houlihan: “The skills gap is very real, very big and threatens to hold the economy back”
The CEO of the employment charity Generation UK&I on social mobility, empathy and why we need an “aggressive” fossil…
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How trailblazers are using smart meters to make the switch to net zero
Buildings can be retrofitted with technology to adapt them for the climate future.
“We really believe change is possible”: UNEP’s Climate finance chief on why there is still hope
Ivo Mulder believes that the pace of change within climate finance will catch a lot of people by surprise.
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Why plugging the sustainability skills gap is key to ESG
The new Sustainability Academy makes Microsoft’s environmental expertise available to all.
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Towards a new, green economy
How innovation and investment in communities can help build a net zero future.
Energy and Climate Change: Financing the transition
Expert comment and analysis from Sadiq Khan, Eric Adams, Ed Miliband MP and Helen Clarkson.
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We all want climate budgets – who is ready?
Cities aspire to take emissions management to the balance sheet.
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How software will make or break sustainability
In the next five years, AI and other tech will turbocharge the move to net zero.
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Sustainable finance can save us from the energy crisis – with the Luxembourg Stock Exchange
A special podcast from Spotlight, the New Statesman’s policy supplement.
Meet the oil and gas worker hoping for a just transition
We are not going to become the coal miners of net zero, says Cliff Bowen.
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Can Clean Air Zones fix the UK’s air pollution problem?
The controversial initiative has come under fire from local leaders.
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The Policy Ask with Chris Stark: “The government has undermined its climate message by giving the green light to new coal mines”
The CEO of the Climate Change Committee on public speaking, planning reform, and Gordon Brown.
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Net zero jobs growth “not guaranteed”, says Climate Change Committee
The UK may be missing opportunities for green jobs, warns a new report by the independent body.
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Twenty-two heat pump myths debunked
This technology, vital for reaching net zero, is misunderstood.
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The net zero asset managers “doubling down” on oil and gas
Despite the risks, some of the world’s largest asset managers are increasing their support for the fossil fuel industry,…
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Why New York and London are betting on climate budgets
As mayors of two of the world’s largest cities, we believe this powerful tool can help us reach net…
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The Policy Ask with Helen Clarkson: “I’ve learnt the value of a proper apology”
The CEO of the Climate Group on working for Doctors Without Borders, the importance of listening, and the UK’s…
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How smart meters helped a business thrive
The Syrup Room used smart meter technology to control their rising energy bills.
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The case for sustainable thematic investing
A new approach for investors can complement ESG frameworks.
Cries of a “war on cars” have failed to move voters
The local election results suggest cities can safely stick to their plans to lower traffic and emissions.
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Why “franken-chicken” shouldn’t be on the menu for the coronation
A court case has demanded an end to the breeding of fast-growing chickens – and the damage it causes…
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How innovation and green tech will transform Africa
Ahead of Cop28 in the UAE, the Annual Investment Meting will bring together investors and governments to understand the…
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The Policy Ask with Adam Scorer: “The UK still seems allergic to learning from other governments”
The chief executive of National Energy Action on the cost-of-living crisis and the UK’s failing benefits system.
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How to make your business indispensable in the green economy
Microsoft is empowering companies with the tools it has developed on its own sustainability journey.
New guidelines on enforced prepayment meters fail to protect the most vulnerable
It’s disgusting that the government is allowing companies to continue this unscrupulous practice.
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Why it matters that XR’s “Big One” has trade union support
A shared sense of injustice across the climate and labour movements is re-galvanising issue-based politics.
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Using my faith to tackle the climate crisis
Stewardship and conservation are at the heart of Islam and other religions.
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Why G7 climate leadership is on the line in Japan
Fossil fuel use could decline as soon as next year, but G7 proposals risk slowing the green transition.
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How smart meters can boost Britain’s energy resilience
Energy use can be better managed with the right technologies.
Most companies struggle to track their carbon emissions. Here’s what they can do about it
Many corporations still use spreadsheets to track their carbon footprint, making it difficult to abide by science-backed emissions targets.
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More than £2bn of government funding for retrofitting homes remains unspent
A third of the money devoted to decarbonising housing and public sector buildings has not materialised.
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Musidora Jorgensen: Sustainability is good for business
Microsoft’s chief sustainability officer, UK, on how the tech giant has made the green transition an integral part of…
From an African perspective, Grant Shapps’s energy policy makes no sense
The UK once led the world in climate action, but now it is following others – and reluctantly at…
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Will the government have another “green day” in court?
Rishi Sunak’s latest net-zero proposals mean the UK would still exceed its carbon budget by 2037.
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The government’s climate plans are a recipe for disaster
What was touted as a “Green Day” instead revealed a refusal to acknowledge painful realities.
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Meet the nuclear power engineer who is thinking of future generations
As the government seeks to expand nuclear energy, old reactors still need to be maintained.
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Can we solve the UK’s heat pump problem?
Britain has the lowest heat pump installation rate in Europe.
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Concern about climate change stays strong through cost-of-living crisis
Climate action remains a popular policy among the UK population.
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Why market reform, not freezing bills, is the answer to energy security
New research argues the long-term solution to volatile fossil fuel prices requires public ownership of energy generators.
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“Everything, everywhere, all at once”: UN climate report has no time for doomism
A definitive new IPCC assessment of the climate emergency presses for action over despair.
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How Wales could save the world
Sophie Howe, the nation’s first-ever commissioner for future generations, on what it takes to prioritise well-being over GDP.
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Vanuatu’s existential climate threat: “Losing my country is not an option”
In the wake of the latest warning from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Pacific island nation renews…
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New analysis suggests climate coverage downplays livestock’s impact
Polling reveals a lack of knowledge about the environmental harm done by livestock consumption.
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The Policy Ask with Quinn McKew: “The government must stop its attempt to throw away our human rights”
The freedom of expression campaigner on protecting our liberties, supporting Ukraine and rescuing a colleague in crisis.
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What would make Jeremy Hunt’s budget a green success?
Six announcements to look out for in the Chancellor’s spring statement.
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Can a booming start-up scene help Norway turn its back on oil’s “poisoned pill”?
The oil-rich nation’s green surge is not as big as it should be.
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It’s time to talk policy in the SNP leadership race
So far, constitutional matters have dominated the debate over key issues like the climate and child poverty.
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Why communities are vital to tackling the multiple crises we face
Radical local policies can build the Green New Deal.
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Andy Palmer on Britishvolt and why the automotive sector is “staring into the abyss”
The former Nissan executive and godfather of the electric car, says the UK will have no auto industry without…
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Can a new university breathe life into Britain’s climate education?
Black Mountains College in Wales, and its co-founder Ben Rawlence, is advocating a wartime-style overhaul of the way people…
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The autonomous future is nearly here – with Wejo
A special podcast from Spotlight, the New Statesman’s policy supplement.
Minette Batters: “Food cannot be the poor relation to the environment”
Minette Batters, head of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), doubles down on food security in the face of green…
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To tackle the climate “doom loop”, embrace the hope spiral
Managing our emotional reaction to the climate crisis is as vital as our policy response.
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British Oil’s record profits outweigh renewables investment
Instead of investing in renewable alternatives, British oil companies have doubled down on business as usual.
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The need to grow London’s EV infrastructure at speed and scale
London has made great strides in growing its electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
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Powering careers that secure our net zero future
We're helping to transition workers to a green economy.
Why Rishi Sunak is complicit in Shell’s “greenwashed” mega-profits
The prime minister says he “understands” people’s anger, but his tax loopholes and lack of a green investment plan…
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UK corporate leaders group: we are trailing in the global race for green growth
The next ten years will be about which economies are fittest for the net-zero transition.
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How universal public services can end the cost-of-living crisis
Government provision of basic human needs, like healthcare and housing, can fight price shocks and save the planet.
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“Spawn of the devil”: the dangerous escalation in Tory climate rhetoric
Climate campaigners are the ones with perspective, no matter the misrepresentations of some Conservative MPs.
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Labour has the ear of small business – let’s prove we can deliver
Keir Starmer needs to give SMEs a strong offer on skills, business rates and net zero.
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Dartmoor’s wild camping battle is a fight for nature itself
Will the last wild camper please turn out the light?
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Conservative Environment Network: the government must attract green investment, not deter it
To balanced the nation’s books, the Chancellor needs to accelerate efforts to reach net zero.
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Are we there yet with electric cars? The EV story – with Wejo
A special podcast from Spotlight, the New Statesman’s policy supplement.
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The legislative battles to watch out for in 2023
UK policymakers and experts reveal the legislation and policy initiatives they have their eye on as parliament returns.
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The UAE must show political leadership in its Cop28 presidency
The former UN climate head asks what it will take for the UAE to successfully lead this year’s climate…
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New Year promises won’t resolve our meat problem
Just under a third of Brits say they are going reducetarian this year, but we need more to meet…
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What Greta Thunberg’s arrest means
Climate activists are facing dark times with courage.
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Sherif Tawfik: The Middle East and Africa are ready to lead on the climate
Microsoft’s chief sustainability officer for MEA on why the region is key to growing the green economy.
“Nothing green” about soaring waste incineration, says former Defra chief scientist
Burned waste is marketed as “renewable” energy, but it produces more carbon emissions than natural gas and is no…
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How many floods will it take for the Tories to take net zero seriously?
“We need more wetlands,” says chair of Natural England, as Chris Skidmore’s review of the government’s climate response is…
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The climate forecast for 2023: El Niño and more record-breaking temperatures
Last year was the UK’s hottest and climate change heralds further destabilising extremes.
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“We have an open goal”: how Labour plans to unlock the climate vote
A new party forum including leading MPs wants to build consensus and challenge the Tories’ rural dominance.
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How Newham can lead the way on net zero
A variety of stakeholders, technologies and initiatives must come together to speed up the energy transition.
Meet the shipping engineer transitioning from oil and gas
Seafarers are having to adapt to new sources of energy.
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Key policy moments of 2022
Policymakers and experts on their policy highlight – or lowlight – of the year.
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Doug Gurr: “We are potentially decades away from a mass extinction”
As Cop15 ends, the former Amazon boss turned director of the Natural History Museum wants to make nature count…
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Cornwall Insight’s Gareth Miller: “Next winter is going to be really challenging”
The CEO of the energy consultancy known for its price cap forecasts says reduced government support could be catastrophic…
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The Policy Ask with Ravi Gurumurthy: “We need to incentivise electrification rather than hold it back”
The CEO of social change charity Nesta on Mahatma Gandhi, the urgency of home insulation, and why we need…
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When will nuclear fusion produce more heat than hype?
Why a fusion power “breakthrough” is a true first, but won’t prevent climate breakdown.
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The net zero opportunities for small business are huge, with the right help
In uncertain times, entrepreneurs need the right information and support to grow.
The green jobs bonanza is already here
The renewable energy transition promises to create tens of millions of jobs, but the UK risks missing out unless…
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Nuclear power is just a slow and expensive distraction
Despite recent breakthroughs in nuclear fusion, renewables remain the most important technology for reaching net zero.
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Rishi Sunak’s lack of leadership on nature is failing businesses
The UK’s stop-start approach to the climate and biodiversity crises makes it hard for industry to act.
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Ukraine’s energy grid is teetering on the brink of collapse
As temperatures plunge and Russia attacks, Kyiv is fighting to keep the lights on.
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Michael Gove’s coal mine decision is a climate disaster – and it’s only the beginning
Britain’s first new deep mine in 30 years has perpetuated net zero myths that could lead to more fossil…
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