Alison Smith

Don’t crush our right to protest! The right to protest is the heartbeat of democracy. It lets us speak out, challenge injustice, and hold those in power accountable. The Government’s plan would give police sweeping powers to ban repea...

😡 The Government wants to ban repeated protests & jail those who defy them. Stand up for our democratic right to protest - sign the petition now! you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/do...

How can the UK's Planning and Infrastructure Bill be amended to reduce damage to nature?
Summary of the 184 page list of amendments and their impacts on nature and people.
www.eci.ox.ac.uk/news/eci-res...

Our new briefing note highlights crucial amendments to make the Planning and Infrastructure Bill less damaging and more positive for nature
@peersfortheplanet.bsky.social @wwf.org.uk @wclnews.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @cieem.bsky.social

Currently being debated in the House of Lords, the Bill is intended to speed up planning and deliver new housing and infrastructure...

But the proposed mechanisms in Part 3 risk enabling the destruction of some of England’s most precious habitats and species 🏗️🌳

Read the priority amendments 👆

How can the Planning and Infrastructure Bill bring positive outcomes for people and #naturerecovery?

➡️ New Briefing Note highlights priority amendments to make the Bill less damaging and more nature-positive 📜

Read here: www.naturebasedsolutionsinitiative.org/news/plannin...

@eci-bio.bsky.social

Why we must act on natural climate solutions now Read the joint letter from 10 top scientists on why we can no longer seek perfection or permanence in natural climate solutions, and must instead take action.

Nature offers durable carbon storage at landscape scale and risk of reversal can be managed - let's not undermine investing in nature because of misleading arguments about 'permanence'.

www.weforum.org/stories/2025...

Just read this great article showing local stakeholder preferences for more scrub and scattered trees in the hills, rather than solid woodland blocks. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
@rspb.bsky.social @tfinch.bsky.social

Most new build homes must be fitted with solar panels - Miliband The energy secretary says the move will cut energy bills, but house builders caution against burdensome regulations.

FINALLY - a victory for common sense as @ed-miliband.bsky.social promises solar panels on all new homes in the UK (unless the roof is shaded) www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Sign the petition: Save Our Swifts Swifts have lost more than half their population in 20 years. A simple £35 brick in new builds could help save them. Labour used to support this – now they’re planning to backtrack. Sign the petition ...

Please sign this urgent petition to support an easy win for nature: just put a £35 swift nest brick in every new UK home. 38d.gs/ky2i

Attempt to protect rare chalk streams in planning bill rejected by Labour MPs Government vetoes cross-party effort to protect threatened waterways from push to rip up environmental red tape

“[Chalk streams] are globally significant ecosystems and are largely restricted to our shores. So we have a huge responsibility to protect them.”

Really disappointing for this amendment I moved in the Planning & Infrastructure Bill Committee to be vetoed.

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Could this be the biggest climate story of the year?

For the first time on record, China's emissions are falling due to clean energy growth, not slow power demand

Full analysis + outlook by Lauri Myllyvirta:

www.carbonbrief.org/...
1/7

Check our our tool for finding suitable indicators to monitor biodiversity and soil health - the paper is published today!
www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/news/researc...
@naturerecovery.bsky.social @naturebasedsols.bsky.social

📢 @ejmilnergulland.bsky.social: MPs must pause Part III of the Planning Bill—consult widely—and align it with the spirit and substance of the Environment Act and #CANBill. Housing’s urgent—but it doesn’t need to happen at #nature’s expense. Nature isn’t a “nice to have”. It’s all we have.

🚨 EU solar overtook coal for the FIRST TIME last year

The BIGGEST fall in coal generation globally was in the EU in 2024, with many EU countries ranking among the world’s leaders in solar and wind 📉

ember-energy.org/lat...

Oxford tops QS World University Rankings in English, physiology and geography The University of Oxford has secured the top place in the QS World University Rankings 2025 in three subjects: English Language and Literature, Physiology and Geography.

NEWS: Oxford tops QS World University Rankings in English, Physiology and Geography

Congratulations! Faculty of English, @oxforddpag.bsky.social and @oxfordgeography.bsky.social

DPAG is No1 for six consecutive years, top of over 170 universities in this year’s rankings.

www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/...

Why the Tesla backlash could help electric cars finally go mainstream Elon Musk marketed EVs to wealthy early-adopter men – but in the long run, more diverse messaging will help the industry.

As EVs become more affordable and the technology more mature, more diverse and inclusive messaging from trusted sources is needed to truly widen their appeal in the wake of backlash against Elon Musk, says Hannah Budnitz from the Transport Studies Unit.

Planning bill ‘throws environmental protection to the wind’, say UK nature chiefs Heads of 32 charities warn proposals could push species towards extinction and lead to irreversible habitat loss

🧵Planning reform that speeds up sustainable development *and* restores nature is worth fighting for. The #PlanningBill is currently one sided, weakening nature laws with scant benefit for biodiversity. But Ministers could get back on track for a win-win.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Chart | Proposals for new coal plants have been drastically scaled back in some of the most coal-reliant countries over the past decade: Change in proposed coal power capacity (announced, pre-permit and permitted) from 2015 to 2024, gigawatts (GW), in all countries that saw declines over this period. Red arrows indicate countries that no longer have any plans to build coal power plants. Source: Global Energy Monitor.

NEW – Analysis: Nearly 60 countries have ‘dramatically’ cut plans to build coal plants since 2015 | @joshgabbatiss.bsky.social @globalenergymon.bsky.social

Read here: buff.ly/ndBmRxQ

Air pollution graphics for central Paris between 2007 and 2023.

Air pollution has dropped significantly in #Paris in the last 15 years as a result of a deliberate strategy. Mayor @annehidalgo.bsky.social’s leadership has traded car space for green space, safe bike space, kid space.. and traded pollution for people.

Good trade.

🐝 @carolinelucas.bsky.social is 100% right.

🌍 The #CANBill is essential to protect climate and nature with stronger, joined-up law.

❌ We can’t afford delays.

🌳 We need to make time to advance the Climate and Nature Bill in Parliament.

📰 👉 www.theguardian.com/environment/... @theguardian.com

Obstructionism? This is a plea for due process Why MPs must pause Part III of the Planning Bill

⏸️ Pausing Part III of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill isn’t obstructionism—it’s a plea for due process.

👇 Read more in the op-ed written by @ejmilnergulland.bsky.social, @natduffus.bsky.social, Alexa Culver and Sophus zu Ermgassen.

🌳 www.zerohour.uk/planningbill...

Average person will be 40% poorer if world warms by 4C, new research shows Experts say previous economic models underestimated impact of global heating – as well as likely ‘cascading supply chain disruptions’

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

YouTube video by Zero Hour: Climate and Nature Bill 🌿 Steve Reed MP on Climate and Nature Bill | Environmental Audit Committee, 24 March 2025

🌍 Steve Reed wanted the Climate & Nature Bill to proceed. Ed Miliband promised to work on the #CANBill's objectives. Mary Creagh pledged to deliver “binding nature commitments”.

🚨 Labour Ministers are speaking out.

⏳ What’s the delay for new, joined-up, science-led climate and nature legislation?

Government to extend ban on moorland burning - closing loopholes in existing rules

Great news for nature, carbon, & people who’ll be spared from acrid smoke & flooding

Bad news for dukes & billionaires who own grouse moors 🎻

Here's my quote running on PA newswire: 1/

www.gov.uk/government/n...

Tackling climate crisis will increase economic growth, OECD research finds Third of global GDP could be lost this century if climate crisis runs unchecked, says report

Tackling climate crisis will increase economic growth but a third of global GDP could be lost this century if climate crisis runs unchecked, says OECD report
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Tending to the broken bones | illuminem A call for individual leadership and community engagement to drive change and healing

Some wise words in these chaotic times from the incomparable Christiana Figueres
illuminem.com/illuminemvoi...

Glacier meltdown risks food and water supply of 2 billion people, says UN Unesco report highlights ‘unprecedented’ glacier loss driven by climate crisis, threatening ecosystems, agriculture and water sources

"It will be easy to adapt", they said....

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Schools and hospitals get £180 solar investment from Great British Energy The government has announced the funding for 200 schools and hospitals apiece across the UK.

Good news from the UK: £180m investment for solar panels in schools and hospitals, which will save on energy bills. A good start for GB Energy, though much more will be needed. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

YouTube video by Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery Biodiversity Governance: past, present and future: Reflections on COP-16, & on 16 COPs. David Cooper

In this talk @hdavidcooper.bsky.social discusses key updates from COP16 & the path toward the ambitious goals of the Kunming-Montreal GBF. He explores the evolution of biodiversity governance & how science, cooperation, & grassroots efforts can drive recovery. 🌍🌱 @eci-bio.bsky.social