William Nicolle mentioned in Cities Today: Should cities pay residents to spot idling offenders?

Bright Blue’s most recent report, Emission impossible? Air pollution, national accountability and the transport sector, has been featured in an article on Cities Today.

Bright Blue’s Researcher and co-author of the report, William Nicolle, was quoted as saying that councils don’t enforce anti-idling regulations:

“This is not just the fault of the councils– the current law is very difficult to enforce, due to needing the presence of a traffic officer and the fact that a warning must be issued before applying any fine”

Read the article here, and full report here.

Eamonn Ives: Our government must spend more on preserving global nature - the people will profit

Our Researcher, Eamonn Ives, has written for the Telegraph ahead of London’s hosting of the Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference 2018.

In his article, Eamonn references Bright Blue and the Conservative Environment Network’s joint report, Saving global nature: greening UK Official Development Assistance, and calls for the Government to use the international aid budget to establish a new ‘Global Nature Conservation Fund’, and spend at least £1 billion a year to help protect, restore, and enhance some of the most iconic parts of the natural world, including mitigating the illegal wildlife trade.

Here’s an excerpt:

This week, the eyes of the international conservation community will be on the UK. The Government should continue with the good work it has been doing on the IWT, such as the ivory import ban, and commit to supporting global nature conservation more on a par with our international counterparts.

Read the full article here.

Maurice Golden: Ring the changes on sustainable growth

An abridged essay written by Maurice Golden MSP from Conservation nation, Bright Blue's recent collection on environmental conservation, has been published by the Scotsman. In his essay, Maurice argues that sustainability should be at the heart of the United Kingdom’s industrial strategy.

Here's an excerpt:

For businesses, the implementation of circular economic models will improve their ability to control supply chains and manage long-term costs, turning inputs into assets. New business models will be encouraged around renting, leasing, servitisation, remanufacturing, and reuse.

Read the full article here.

Conservation Nation: Bright Blue calls for conservation to be made cross-departmental priority

The publication of Bright Blue's recent essay collection, Conservation nation, has been covered by BusinessGreen.

In an article on the collection, Eamonn Ives, a co-editor of the collection is quoted saying, "despite it being a cross-departmental issue, the current approach to conservation policy is not seen or treated in this way". He further goes on to remark that, "the UK government needs to promote nature conservation at home and abroad using all the levers of government in a joined-up way". 

Read the full article here.

Rebecca Pow: Reconnecting young people with the natural world would bring benefits to mental and physical health

An abridged essay written by Rebecca Pow MP from Conservation nation, Bright Blue's recent collection on environmental conservation, has been published on ConservativeHome. In her essay, Rebecca makes the case for, amongst other things, wider use of 'green prescribing' in Britain, as a way to improve health and well-being. 

Here's an excerpt:

Reconnecting children with the natural world is, of course, only part of the answer to tackling the mental and physical health problems facing our younger generations. Nevertheless, it could be an integral part of the solution. The power of splashing through a puddle, running through long grass, or watching a blue tit at a bird feeder should not be underestimated.

Read the full article here.

Burned up: wood-fueled electricity could be more damaging than coal

Our report, Hotting up, was referenced in an article by Sasha Stashwick on the Ecologist. In her article, which challenges the true sustainability of biomass burning for electricity generation, she alludes to our recommendation that more stringent carbon accounting rules are vital in order to prevent an expansion in the use of bioenergy that does not genuinely assist with eliminating greenhouse gas emissions. 

Read the full article here.

The case for spending aid budget on conservation to save planet

Our Senior Associate Fellow, Ben Caldecott, has written a piece for the Yorkshire Post on our latest report, Saving global nature: greening UK Official Development Assistance. In his article, Ben explains how our report calls for nature to become a key filter when allocating UK international aid. 

Here's an excerpt:

Habitat loss, the erosion of ecosystem services, climate change, and pollution are exacerbating poverty and erasing – or increasing the fragility of – development gains around the world. Protecting and restoring nature is essential for securing genuinely sustainable development, particularly in the poorest countries.
 

Read the full article here.

Wild animals are dying off rapidly. A new law could halt this destruction

Our Senior Associate Fellow, Ben Caldecott, has been published on the Guardian.

In his article, he calls for the UK to enshrine crimes against wildlife in future legislation which has been mooted to tackle international criminal misconduct, such as a UK version of the American Magnitsky Act. 

Read the full article here.