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The Green Alliance Podcast

Green Alliancewww.green-alliance.org.uk
The latest ideas, debate and insights on UK environmental policy and politics. Brought to you by Green Alliance - the charity and think tank focused on achieving ambitious leadership for the environment.
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Episodes

Event highlights: Inspiring long term thinking on the environment

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.

Jun 08, 202128 minEp. 66

Doughnut economics: an interview with Kate Raworth ('Insights' series 3 - episode 6)

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 at Oxford University....

May 18, 202122 minEp. 65

The climate impact of flying ('Insights' series 3 - episode 5)

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.

May 04, 202122 minEp. 64

On track for net zero? ('Insights' series 3 - episode 4)

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 tracker , which is monitoring the government’s progress on cutting carbon emissions....

Apr 19, 202120 minEp. 63

Was this a green budget? ('Insights' series 3 - episode 1)

Sam Alvis is the head of the green renewal project at Green Alliance and former senior adviser at the Tony Blair Institute. Dimitri Zenghelis is a special adviser at the Bennett Institute, University of Cambridge, and co-founder of the Wealth Economy project. He is also a senior fellow at the Grantham Institute on Climate Change at the London School of Economics. Dimitri was head of the Stern Review team and head of economic forecasting at the Treasury.

Mar 09, 202128 minEp. 60

Interview with Sir Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat leader ('Insights' series 2 - episode 4)

In episode four of our second series of ‘Insights’ podcasts, Shaun Spiers, executive director at Green Alliance is joined by Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats. They discuss Ed's time as secretary of state for energy and climate change during the coalition years, his hopes for COP26 and Lib Dem ambitions for the environment.

Jan 12, 202139 minEp. 56

Event highlights: What will lab grown meat and dairy mean for food, farming and the environment?

For this podcast, we brought together a panel of experts to discuss the consequences of lab grown meat and dairy. Proponents emphasise the environmental and animal welfare potential of these technologies, but there are concerns about ownership and distribution of economic benefits, as well as the serious potential impact on the farming community. The panel includes Dr Alexandra Sexton, Leverhulme research fellow at University of Sheffield, Jamie Arbib, co-founder of RethinkX and Alice Ritchie, c...

Dec 22, 202033 minEp. 55

The challenge for Glasgow: an interview with Ed Miliband

This conversation took place at our Making it count event on Friday 27 November, in which Ed joined us to discuss the importance of getting COP26 right. As a "veteran of Copenhagen", the former Labour leader has some fascinating insights into what we have learned from the past decade of climate negotiations. Discover more about what happened at our Making it count event on our YouTube channel ....

Dec 03, 202025 minEp. 53

What's in the PM's green plan? An interview with Rebecca Newsom, Greenpeace

The UK government’s commitment to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 was called for by Green Alliance and Greenpeace in a joint briefing in September 2020. In this episode, Gwen and Rebecca discuss the significance of this policy and others to ask - is the PM's green plan going to put the environment at the heart of the economic recovery?

Nov 24, 202035 minEp. 52

What does a Biden administration mean for climate and nature?

In this US election podcast, Jess Shankleman, reporter for Bloomberg News chairs a fascinating discussion between Claire Healy, director of climate diplomacy at E3G , Brendan Guy, senior adviser to the NRDC Action Fund and Katie Eder, executive director of Future Coalition on what the election result could mean for climate and nature. Recorded two days after the US election, this episode focuses on what a Joe Biden administration will do in office in this critical moment for the environment. You...

Nov 12, 202024 minEp. 51

Fixing our relationship with stuff: the role of better design and the right to repair ('Insights', series 2 - episode 1)

While electronics play an increasingly important role in our lives, short lived products have led to a mounting e-waste problem in the UK. Green Alliance's head of resource policy, Libby Peake interviews the co-founders of the Restart Project, Janet Gunter and Ugo Vallauri to discuss how we can fix our relationship with stuff. The Restart Project helps people learn how to repair their electronics and to rethink how they consume them in the first place. Both Green Alliance and the Restart Project...

Nov 10, 202033 minEp. 50

Rewilding on Knepp Estate: an interview with Charlie Burrell

As the coronavirus pandemic and climate crisis grab the headlines, the alarming rate of nature loss in the UK and the impact it is having is slipping under the radar. There are few people in the UK who have done more to put this right than Charlie Burrell. The former chair of the charity Rewilding Britain and owner of Knepp estate, Charlie tells Belinda Gordon how removing fencing, introducing deer, Longhorn cattle, Exmoor ponies and Tamworth pigs has allowed nature to take over this once intens...

Oct 13, 202026 minEp. 49

Racism in the environment sector (event highlights)

On the 3rd of September, Green Alliance hosted a webinar about how, as a sector and a wider movement, we can address racism in our work to tackle the climate and nature crisis. During the event, we heard reflections from Mya-Rose Craig (Birdgirl) , founder and president, Black2Nature, Charise Johnson , policy advisor (public), The British Academy and Sufina Ahmad , director, The John Ellerman Foundation. All three speakers are leading the way in creating a more diverse and inclusive sector, thei...

Sep 08, 202036 minEp. 48

The Dasgupta Review: how to realign the economy to address the ecological crisis

In this episode, you'll hear the highlights from one of our most recent events where we were joined by Professor Partha Dasgupta and Sir Roger Gifford, chair of the Green Finance Institute. They provided an eye-opening discussion on the economics of biodiversity and outlined the ways in which we can rebuild a more resilient economy for the future, in ways that address the ecological crisis. This event was included a live Q+A session and was chaired by Dame Fiona Reynolds, master of Emmanuel Coll...

Aug 12, 202047 minEp. 47

Rt Hon George Eustice MP keynote speech on the government’s environmental ambitions

"Every country faces a choice as they map out their recovery - store up problems by sticking with the status quo, or get back on our feet by building back better and greener" In this podcast, you can listen to Rt Hon George Eustice MP's fist major speech as environment secretary where he set out his vision for a green recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. This episode also includes highlights from the panel discussion that followed, including reflections from Beccy Speight, chief executive of ...

Aug 03, 202037 minEp. 46

Celebrating nature writing with longlisted Wainwright Prize authors Jini Reddy and Dara McAnulty

This year, with sales of nature books booming during lockdown, the Wainwright Prize for nature writing has never felt more timely. For this episode, we had the privilege of interviewing two of the longlisted authors for this year’s prize, to be announced on 9 September. Jini Reddy, award-winning author and journalist, shares her experience of writing Wanderland , an account of her journey to connect with the magic of the landscape, and Dara McAnulty, a young star of the conservation movement, ta...

Jul 29, 202036 minEp. 45

Interview with Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the Environment Agency

"We will only have a healthy economy if we have a healthy environment" In this episode, Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the Environment Agency and a member of the government's Council for Sustainable Business, is interviewed by Green Alliance's executive director Shaun Spiers. This interview was recorded ahead of the summit of business leaders and government, being held on Monday 29th June. The summit will see major FTSE100 businesses come together to make clear commitments to tackle the climate and ...

Jun 26, 202028 minEp. 44

Building back better: ensuring a green and just recovery (event highlights)

On 4 June 2020, we hosted an online event with Mary Robinson, chair of The Elders, and Lord Stern, chair of the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics. This episode features the highlights of the discussion around what is needed to ensure a socially just, inclusive and low carbon recovery from the Covid-19 crisis. The discussion was chaired by Green Alliance’s executive director, Shaun Spiers. Can you spare a few moments to fill out a quick 2 minute survey about the Green ...

Jun 12, 202032 minEp. 43

Should the UK extend the transition period for the sake of the environment? (event highlights)

On 3 June 2020, we hosted an event online reflecting on the current state of EU negotiations and discussing what needs be done before the end of the transition period to ensure the UK’s environment remains protected and whether the UK has the right institutions in place to uphold environmental protections. This episode features the highlights of the discussion. Our expert panel were Jill Rutter, senior research fellow, UK in a Changing Europe; David Baldock, senior fellow, Institute for European...

Jun 10, 202030 minEp. 42

Interview with Environment Minister Rebecca Pow

We were joined by Environment Minister Rebecca Pow for this special podcast episode for World Environment Day. Currently serving as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at Defra, she has long been a champion of environmental issues. She discusses her farming roots, studies and career, and her passion for nature. Hear Rebecca Pow’s insights into actions the government is taking on the environment, including on air quality, waste and agriculture. She describes the changes she hopes to see as a r...

Jun 05, 202027 minEp. 41

The economics of carbon taxes and a green recovery ('Insights', series 1 - episode 12)

How do we get on a sustainable economic pathway? Dieter Helm is professor of energy policy and official fellow in economics of Oxford University. His book Green and prosperous land ' argues that the UK has so far overlooked the climate impact caused by the products we consume. In the last in the current series of our ‘Insights’ podcasts, Caterina Brandmayr and Dieter Helm discuss the importance of the UK tackling all the emissions it’s responsible for, a green recovery and the role of carbon tax...

Jun 02, 202028 minEp. 40

Will Covid-19 shift the UK to sustainable transport long term? (event highlights)

This episode features the highlights from our online event, 'Will Covid-19 shift the UK to sustainable transport long term?'. During lockdown there was a huge drop in transport across the UK and the air we breathe has been noticeably cleaner as a result. But will decisions made as the lockdown is eased make transport systems compatible with the government’s net zero target and improve air quality across the country long term, or will they lock in more carbon intensive infrastructure and behaviou...

May 28, 202037 minEp. 39

Trade talks: risks and opportunities for the UK's environmental credentials ('Insights', series 1 - episode 11)

Brexit means that the UK can design its own approach to international trade for the first time in over 40 years, but what could this mean for the environment? In this episode, Sarah Williams, head of the Greener UK unit, is joined by Tom West, UK environment lead at ClientEarth, and an expert on the trade talks. With the UK in the midst of trade negotiations with a number of different countries, and the Trade Bill being discussed in parliament, how we can make sure these agreements are positive ...

May 26, 202024 minEp. 38

How citizens' assemblies are transforming the political process ('Insights', series 1 - episode 10)

In this episode, we interview professor in practice at Lancaster University and expert lead for the Climate Assembly UK, Dr Rebecca Willis. She gives her insights into the assembly’s process and what the results could mean for future UK climate action. She discusses her new book Too hot to handle? The democratic challenge of climate change which reports on her revealing interviews with leading politicians across the parties and their attitudes to climate action. Can you spare two minutes to fill...

May 19, 202025 minEp. 37
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