Henry Parkinson

How can we accelerate the UK's transition to net zero? Nesta’s UK 2040 Options consulted leading energy and net zero experts to debate and test 10 ways to get back on track with carbon budgets - including collective switching to low carbon heat, agricultural land reform and legislative targets for climate adaptation

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In our latest blog, Carina Millstone, executive director of Feedback , breaks down how the dismissal of their claim for judicial review of the UK's Food Strategy reveals fatal flaws in the Climate Change Act. Read here 👇 https://lnkd.in/e95WSCWk

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📢 DESNZ have published both a call for evidence & consultation this morning on changes to the Capacity Market (CM) to maintain security of supply and enable unabated gas plants to decarbonise. Two tricky things to balance? Some of the key proposals: ⚡ make it easier for ageing plants to access multi-year CM agreements by lowering the capex threshold for 3-year CM agreements. This is all about supporting the retention of operational plants that 'have a role in ensuring the security of supply'. ⚡ ensure all substantially refurbishing or new combustion power plants participating in the next CM auction (T-4 2026) have a credible plan to decarbonise either through converting to hydrogen to power or power CCUS before they become operational. Note: there is a separate govt. response on this topic also published today re Decarbonisation Readiness (DR) requirements - the CM proposal is to ensure that CM applicants which prequalify ahead of the DR legislation being implemented still comply with it if they are in scope. ⚡ introduce an exit pathway 'managed exits' for unabated gas plants with multi-year CM agreements to exit the CM and transfer to a Dispatchable Power Agreement, so they can covert to power CCUS The call for evidence in particular is seeking views on additional exit pathways for unabated gas beyond the above & options for developing NESO's modelling of longer-term capacity needs out to 2032/2033. I posted yesterday about how NESO's pathway to clean power 2030 could include a hefty reliance on 'low carbon dispatchable power', i.e. abated (carbon captured) gas and hydrogen to power. According to DESNZ: "Low carbon flexible technologies – power with Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (power CCUS), hydrogen to power (H2P), and Long Duration Electricity Storage (LDES) – will be deployed as quickly as possible to deliver long duration flexibility. However, during the transition period we will continue to utilise unabated gas generating capacity, which will move to a backup role to maintain security of supply. " Both the call for evidence and consultation close on 10 December 2024 - relevant docs linked in the comments below ⬇️

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We are fully behind this at CVAA! Important messages from Adoption UK about the moral as well as economic case for better adoption support. Many parallels too with CVAA's manifesto which is available to read here: https://lnkd.in/e69CnXTZ

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Defra has been criticised in a review by the public spending watchdog in relation to the newly introduced BNG regime in particular in respect of local authority resourcing, monitoring and the sale of biodiversity credits. With the upcoming general election it remains to be seen how (and when) this will be addressed. #Planning #BNG #BiodiversityNetGain #Development

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Just five local authorities in England have landowner section 106 agreement (s106) templates for biodiversity net gain (BNG) sites. The data was obtained by law firm BDB Pitmans after freedom of information requests to all 317 local and 10 national park authorities in England. Section 106 agreements are legal agreements between a planning authority and a developer that ensure certain extra works related to a development are undertaken. Read the full story at https://orlo.uk/rEtts #ciob #construction #building #constructionmanagement #biodiversity #architecture #surveying

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🏛️ 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐞𝐬 The High Court has ruled that the UK's climate plan is unlawful, just as the government faces a difficult set of local election results. At UK100, we're calling on Ministers to abandon their "retreat from climate leadership" and empower local leaders to deliver on the UK's climate ambitions. This ruling comes on the heels of UK Net Zero Secretary Claire Coutinho's speech arguing for a hands-off approach to the Net Zero transition, which was disrupted by protesters accusing the government of undermining its climate commitments. Many of the councillors taking their seats for the first time today have been elected on a mandate to deliver ambitious local action to tackle the climate emergency while boosting local and regional economies. The government must now provide them with the long-term funding, powers, and support they need to deliver on this critical mission. Even the Conservatives' bright spots in these elections, such as the re-election of Mayor Ben Houchen, only reinforce our call for a course correction. Houchen co-authored last year's Mission Zero Coalition Future is Local report calling for a "local big bang" on climate action and has distanced himself from the Government throughout his campaign. It's time for the government to work in partnership with local authorities to develop a comprehensive Net Zero delivery framework that maximises the potential of local climate action to create jobs, boost economies, and improve lives across the UK. Read our full press release for more on this critical issue 👇

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Today the OBR has published its 2024 Fiscal risks and sustainability report, where we investigate the costs of climate change damage to the UK's public finances (Chapter 2). We show that by 2074-75 climate change damage could increase UK debt by 23 to 33 per cent of GDP under a below 2°C and below 3°C scenario, respectively. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eNsgT8PD

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Biodiversity net gain #BNG update: 🦋 Percentage of planning applications subject to mandatory BNG is now 6.9%! I asked the 327 local planning authorities in England how many full applications they had received since the full BNG switch-on date of 2 April and of those which ones were subject to mandatory BNG. The total number of full applications received during that time is about 116,000. I say 'about' because LPAs have different ways of classifying 'full' applications, and some of those who wouldn't tell me have very tricky websites for me to work it out myself. Of the 327 LPAs, 137 (or 41.6%) have given a full response; the rest either told me to look it up myself (151) or haven't replied yet (39). Of those 137, the number of applications subject to mandatory BNG is now 3,059 out of 44,170, or 6.9%. That is a huge increase since my previous exercise that only found 0.5% of applications subject to mandatory BNG, but that was in June so early days. As previously mentioned, initial developer hesitancy seems to have now been overcome. If that percentage was reflected across England, the total number of planning applications subject to mandatory BNG so far would be just over 8,000. Ealing and Southwark claim to have had the most full planning applications in total at over 2,000 each, and Worcestershire has had the fewest, just four.  Birmingham and Bournemouth/Poole/Christchurch have had the most subject to BNG, at over 100 each. West Sussex is the only replying council that still hasn't had any. Cambridgeshire has had the highest proportion subject to BNG at six out of seven or 85%. If you want the list of 3000 planning application references subject to BNG DM me with your email address. Perhaps I should sell it but I am happy to contribute to the success of this regime in this way!

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Join our discussion on 18th June & share your views on priorities for delivering environmental policy: 👉 https://lnkd.in/eF7YupjS Implementing environmental policy will be the challenge of the next decade, and public ambitions for the environment have never been higher. 📩➡️🌳

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What do you think about compulsory owners' associations for tenements? Read on to find out more about the Scottish Law Commission's recent Discussion Paper and have your say! https://lnkd.in/e5wPu_vA

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Central government’s over-reliance on competitive bidding to fund local and combined authorities is not working for anyone and inhibits local growth. Our new report from Rebecca McKee and Thomas Pope warns that the next government must end "begging bowl culture" of local growth funding. It sets out how the government can simplify the funding landscape for all local and combined authorities, not just the most developed mayoralties. 📖 Read the full recommendations https://lnkd.in/eewR86AA #localgovernment #regionaleconomicgrowth #localgrowth #ukgovernment #publicfinances

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The UK's climate action plan has been ruled unlawful - so what should happen next? Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth and the Good Law Project have successfully challenged the government's approach to tackling the climate crisis again - having previously done so with the Net Zero Strategy. It now means the government will have to go back to the drawing board with its Carbon Budget Delivery Plan, published back in March 2023, and unveil a revised strategy within 12 months. #climatechange #globalwarming #netzero #carbonbudget #legalchallenge

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Did you know 69% of all UK environmental funding is controlled by just 10 foundations, and nearly 45% goes to just 25 organisations? Our agility, in-depth local ecosystem knowledge and deep connection with local community experts & volunteers are what make local charities, like us, and our grassroots biodiversity, climate, rewilding and social benefit projects, unique and so capable of delivering lasting, impactful change. . So how you can help? - Diversify your giving: Support grassroots and community-based charities alongside the bigger names. - Champion funding equity: Advocate for fairer distribution of resources to maximise impact. Are you a funder, philanthropist, or business looking to shape your 2025 ESG strategy or invest in meaningful change? Let’s talk. Together, we can close the funding gap, tackle marine & coastal environment pollution, protect at-risk species and better understand & improve water quality in The Solent. Thank you to the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) Environmental Funders Network for their research and work raising awareness. #TheSolent #Climate #Rewilding #Biodiversity #Charity #Environment #ESG

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United for trade - Trade Unions on Net Zero "We use the full might of public funding to ensure that our public-sector contracts are used to commit to a just transition." says Tony Wright speaking at the #NationalDelegateConference held by NEC and Unison this week. He highlights the need for fairness and an equitably shared responsibility for everyone, calling for a "System change, not climate change". Always amazing to see more organisations like trade unions taking firm stances on their net zero transition! How much net zero responsibility do you think should fall on organisations? What changes to public services do you think would benefit businesses most on their net zero journey? Find the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dDdUadqS Roll-on weekend! #NetZero #Business #TradeUnions #ClimateChange

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Is anyone you're voting for on 4 July focusing on any of this? Not getting much of a mention in all the pre-election hype! Click here to see how to save the UK economy billions - https://lnkd.in/eTS4qrvq. And here are 5 policy interventions to deliver UK net zero: https://lnkd.in/enTZW45t #climate #netzero #conservation #sustainablefuture

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The online petition for another General Election (currently at 2m votes - https://lnkd.in/e_pGKmji) is generating insight and questions. There is some correlation with rural areas and Reform voting areas (though with plenty of variation). There are also questions about how much is coming from legitimate voters or whether signatures are being generated by automated bots or from overseas. The petition commonly has around 3500 clicks per constituency. There aren't many constituencies with a lot more responses than that, with the curve having a negative skew. This looks unusual. If we look at the petition for an EU referendum, which gained 4 million UK signatures, we see a typical positive distribution - a modal response around 5000 per constituency and a long tail into high numbers. There is an average level of engagement but the petition penetrates more heavily into some areas. We see the same kind of distribution with the current petition into making social media 16+ only. Is the petition for a GE irregular? To get a more usual distribution we could assume that half the signatures are being generated by bots selecting a random postcode. Or is the petition just evolving? After initial promotion on social media connecting across the country perhaps the response will shift to a more typical profile over time. The petitions system shows potential for online democracy but also the risks. Uncertainty over legitimacy and whether it is actually our fellow citizens clicking the button means that our trust in remote processes will be limited. From public meetings to chats in shops, face-to-face discussion in neighbourhoods remains critical to increasing trust; though hopefully not just arguing over whose histogram is more convincing ;)

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It's back to the drawing board for the UK government after having its climate action plan ruled unlawful for the second time last week. So, how do you devise a plan that's robust, fair and achievable?   Bronwyn Forsyth, Bright Space Partner and Strategist at Strategic Advisory and Communications shares her thoughts in this article on regulation vs compliance, the role of purpose in successful sustainability communications and what getting it right looks like. https://lnkd.in/eaJQJ8WD It's also worth listening to this Harvard Business School 'Climate Rising' podcast on "what businesses are doing, can do, and should do to confront climate change" https://lnkd.in/ewqTbJBb #purpose #climate #sustainability #esg

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Helpful summary of the main parties' manifesto commitments on democratic ownership and co-operatives 👇 Big emphasis on community energy across the board ⚡ Very welcome to see Labour promising that GB Energy will invite communities to come forward and propose their own clean energy projects. With more participatory decision-making tools and frameworks out there than ever (including New Citizen Project's own RAPID Democracy framework), there's a real chance there to engage lots more citizens to participate in the shared ownership of vital clean energy assets. If it works, it could stimulate even more community ownership across the board. Also, I'm biased because I'm a Green Party member and was invited to pitch some ideas for the manifesto, but I particularly like the Greens' commitments for: 💰 a Co-operative Development Fund 🌞 A minimum threshold of community ownership in all sustainable energy infrastructure, so green energy doesn't end up entirely in private hands ➡ Making it easier for companies to become mutuals at moments of succession As always, making democratic ownership work means investing properly in building participatory skills and cultures, rather than just providing funds or generic "business support". I suggested only half-jokingly to a Green Party policy advisor that we should bring back National Service, but this time with young people forced to serve as society secretaries and membership engagement officers at their local community-owned pub 😅 (The *really* big idea is to link community-owned energy infrastructure with community-owned social infrastructure, so that the solar panels in the village fields also help sustain the village pub...) https://lnkd.in/e_d7dzTF

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