Rosie Allen

Dear Britain, it’s now clear: 20mph zones save lives and don’t slow traffic. Implement them | Sadiq Khan There is too much bluff and bluster on this subject. Ordinary people just want safe streets for themselves and those they love, and we can achieve that, says London mayor Sadiq Khan

This is excellent to see from Sadiq Khan.

The evidence is clear on 20mph:

“… the number of people killed or seriously injured on London borough roads reduced by 34% following the implementation of 20mph speed limits, with the number of children killed falling by 75% (from four to one).“

2000 years ago: the Romans would let an aqueduct destroy the Gardon Valley. We need clean water, but at what cost?

📰 Great news for once! the government it promising to act on methane, one of the most effective and least talked about ways to slow warming ☁

Global heating: we need to talk about methane We know all about CO2, but a more powerful greenhouse gas goes under the radar. The House of Lords is calling for urgent action

🐄☁ Great to see @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social's piece on the little-talked about secret weapon to fighting global heating, methane yorkshirebylines.co.uk/politics/glo...

We haven’t taken the methane threat seriously and time is running out The UK isn’t short of climate targets, but it is short on plans to meet them. That’s especially true for methane, a greenhouse gas around 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over the short t…

"While the government continues to group methane under all greenhouse gases in policy measures, it is missing the chance to pull this important ‘emergency brake’ on climate change" - new blog on #methane by @rosie-allen.bsky.social.
greenallianceblog.org.uk/2025/05/15/w...

We haven’t taken the methane threat seriously and time is running out

“The UK isn’t short of climate targets, but it is short on plans to meet them.”

In our latest blog, @rosie-allen.bsky.social summarises the report’s recommendations and discusses why this year is the perfect time for a #NationalMethaneActionPlan.

5/5
buff.ly/KVv76pv

Thank you to @afzalkhanmcr.bsky.social for sponsoring this event and your support of a methane action plan👇

☁ Proud to have this methane report out today. Cutting methane is a powerful tool to fight climate change that no one is talking about

🚌 Raising the cap is bad policy. People with mayors who are keeping their buses cheaper than £3 will be fine. But low income people with less access to cars will pay more and get less as routes disappear, or not be able to get around at all.

More than 1,000 people died from heat in England in 2024, figures show The higher-than-expected number of deaths came despite relatively cooler conditions last year.

Last summer, there were 1,311 heat-related deaths

With health inequalities worsening and the UK hotting up, the government must prioritise adapting the most vulnerable communities to extreme heat

www.independent.co.uk/climate-chan...

High drama at the International Maritime Organisation, as a set of policies to drive the shipping sector to net-zero goes to a vote.

A set of countries including Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 and Russia 🇷🇺oppose the deal.

Pacific island nations, who have been pushing for more ambition all week, chose to abstain.

Rural communities & especially farmers are often painted as anti-climate action.

This week, we published a report to provide some evidence on this.

The results, based on a survey of the public (n=1200) and almost 500 farmers (recruited at events, door-to-door, etc), are pretty interesting:

🧵

Lower Thames Crossing has cost £1.2bn even before construction starts Outlay on items including consultants, planning and legal fees jumps from £800mn two years ago

There’s no way of funding the Lower Thames Crossing that makes it good value for money. It’s a dud. DfT & the Treasury should wash their hands of it and focus transport investment on the things people care about, including better buses & reliable trains, and that support regional prosperity.

Kemi Badenoch’s net-zero gamble isn’t popular — so why bother? The Tory leader is abandoning a policy she doesn’t believe in, while betting that a backlash against Labour’s green policies will grow before the next election

"... only 4% of Reform voters back the party because of its [anti-]environmental policies.... Three quarters of Labour & Lib Dem switchers & two thirds of Conservative voters & supporters think... tackling climate change [is] a priority."
www.thetimes.com/article/512a...

1. Today the Tories unveil their new policy: ripping up the commitment to net zero by 2050. Kemi Badenoch, with no evidence, claims "it can’t be achieved without a serious drop in our living standards or by bankrupting us." What the evidence shows is the opposite. We can't prosper without it. 🧵

The left needs to abandon its miserable, irrational pessimism | Aaron Bastani A hundred years ago the average person, in one of the the world’s wealthiest societies, could expect to live until 40. Now global life expectacy is 73

The left needs to abandon its miserable, irrational pessimism | Aaron Bastani

"Campaigners say if government can find money to freeze fuel duty for motorists they can do similar for railways" - hear hear

At its heart, this is what made me go full on in safe streets advocacy- realizing that it is the source of this country’s ability for the powerful to abuse the less powerful with impunity.

Safe streets, good equitable infrastructure is the foundation of a better society.

Beaver releases into wild to be allowed in England for first time in centuries Exclusive: Government to grant nature groups a licence for release of rodent species after earlier setbacks

At last! Beaver releases into wild to be allowed in England for first time in centuries

Big congrats to the rewilders, nature-friendly farmers, & campaigners who’ve fought for this for so long.

And credit where it’s due - thanks to Labour for pressing go!

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

BP's decision to ramp up oil and gas production and slash spending on low-carbon energy is a massive step in the wrong direction.

Renewables are the future and smart businesses see that.

📺 #ICYMI: @msingerhobbs.bsky.social on Sky News 👇

The win-wins at the heart of the new @thecccuk.bsky.social report - cutting carbon reduces climate damage, lowers energy bills & raises living standards - offers a powerful challenge to those intent on weaponising #climate action & holding Britain back👇

Starmer’s cuts are a huge mistake – foreign aid is an investment, not an expense | Halima Begum At the height of the cold war, the west advanced its soft power through aid and development spending. If we cut that now, who will fill the vacuum?, asks Halima Begum of Oxfam

"Real political leadership means standing firm in our commitment to global justice and demonstrating how Britain can be a global force for good in our world" - well said @halimabegum.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Caroline Lucas, "We are the 6th richest economy in the world, there are ways to fund defence without cutting the aid budget which is totally perverse"

@carolinelucas.bsky.social #Newsnight

Climate advisers at odds with Ed Miliband over gas boiler ban The CCC has outlined sweeping changes to homes, transport, energy and farming to meet its suggested new goal of an 87 per cent cut in emissions by 2040

UK climate advisers call for an 87% emissions cut by 2040, achieved by:
- 4 in 5 cars being electric
- 52% of homes using heat pumps
- gas boiler ban in 2035
- 25% cut in meat consumption
- 27% fewer sheep
- Woodland cover increasing from 13% to 16%
Story 👇
www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

Quote from Aoife O'Leary, CEO and Founder of Opportunity Green: "The UK government's top climate advisors show that the aviation sector will make up a quarter of all emissions in 2040 – a staggering increase from where it stands at the moment at 8%. The only other sector projected to emit nearly as many emissions in 2040 is agriculture, begging the question of whether flying should really be given the same priority as the farmers feeding the UK population."

🆕 Carbon budget advice from the UK gov's top climate advisors, @thecccuk.bsky.social, is out. It shows that: 

✈️ The aviation sector will make up 1/4 of all UK emissions in 2040 – a huge increase from 8% today.

🧵 1/4

Plugging into industrial electrification Click to read the report

🏭⚡ Our latest research, supported by the European Climate Foundation, asks why electrification isn’t being prioritised to cut emissions from UK industry, increase resilience to fuel price shocks and contribute to economic growth.

In a nutshell 👇🧵

Working in the think tank sector • Resolution Foundation Think tanks are research organisations that develop ideas and suggestions for action on a whole range of subjects affecting society. Using research, analysis and commentary, we aim to inform and influ...

📢 Considering a career in the think tank sector?

@resfoundation.bsky.social is hosting a webinar demystifying how to apply and what roles exist, particularly aimed at under represented groups, featuring Green Alliance's Iruka Egenti & @sophieoconnell.bsky.social.

Sign up & learn more 👇

Addressing the glaring gap in climate plans: international aviation and shipping emissions  — Opportunity Green Countries have been granted an extra seven months to submit climate plans under the Paris Agreement. We set out key takeaways from our recent webinar with Cornerstones Barristers which discussed a gla...

🚢 ✈️ The NDC gap: international aviation & shipping

Most nationally determined contributions (NDCs) ignore these high-emitting sectors, but to meet Paris Agreement commitments, states must include them. Our Legal Assistant, Olivia Moyle, breaks down how to close this gap.👇

#ClimateSky #GreenSky

Liz Truss called solar farms a “blight on the landscape”, but researchers have found they are actually better for birds than farmland

Solar farms in East Anglia had greater bird diversity & bird abundance than nearby arable land, a study finds

Paper here later www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....