Cosima Zaveta: Electric cars aren’t as green as you think

Cosima Zaveta, Research Assistant at Bright Blue, was featured in CapX, detailing that electric vehicles, despite being portrayed as a zero-emission form of transport, continue to release emissions in the form of particulate matter.

Cosima described, “Like conventional vehicles, electric vehicles emit dangerous pollutants through tyre and brake wear, as well as road surface abrasion. A long-standing focus on our vehicles’ exhaust pipes has earned electric vehicles the title ‘zero emission vehicles’, but this is only right as far as exhaust fumes are concerned. Really, electric vehicles are only ‘zero exhaust emission vehicles.”

You can read Cosima’s piece here.

LocalGov: Think-tank urges litter and fly-tipping crackdown

Bright Blue’s analysis, ‘Picking up the pieces’, has been featured in LocalGov.com.

You can read the article here.

Ryan Shorthouse: Times letters: Pay Farmers For Cleaner Rivers

Bright Blue’s Chief Executive, Ryan Shorthouse, featured in The Times’ letters this week with a plea to replace regressive agricultural policy.

The letter stated, “payments should reward farmers for providing goods that are not currently valued by the market, such as cleaner rivers. Environmental payments will help food security by incentivising soil improvements, more pollinators and natural pest management.”

You can read the piece here.

Roz Bulleid and Wilf Lytton: Towards a green future for British steel

Bright Blue’s report, ‘A carbon crucible’, was written about in CapX recently by Roz Bulleid and Bright Blue’s associate fellow, Wilf Lytton.

Reporting on Bright Blue and Green Alliance’s partnership on the policies required to create a sustainable future for UK steelmaking, it was stated that “supporting the steel industry to urgently decarbonise needs to be a priority.”

You can read the article here.

Joshua Marks: Freezing green levies won’t relieve pressure on bills but we must make them equal

Writing in City AM, Bright Blue’s Joshua Marks urged the Government to make the green levy more progressive for short- and long-term benefits.

Joshua stated, “The current design of the green levy is inherently regressive since poorer households spend a higher proportion of their income on energy compared to richer households. Adjusting the system so those who have higher carbon footprints pay more to fund the net zero transition will help alleviate the cost of the green levy on those who cannot afford it, without sacrificing our renewable ambitions.”

You can read the full article here.

Bright Blue's Researcher, Rebecca Foster quoted in PoliticsHome

In an article by PoliticsHome discussing Bright Blue’s call for a ban on wet-wipes which contain plastic, Researcher Rebecca Foster was quoted:

"Non-flushable wet wipes have a detrimental effect on our waterways and marine ecosystems, contributing to fatberg build up and leading to aquatic life ingesting microplastics.

“Additionally, water companies and consumers are picking up the tab for clearing blockages caused by non-flushable wet wipes being improperly discarded.

“We urge those in government, including Defra Secretary George Eustice MP, to consider the strong environmental and economic case for banning non-flushable wet wipes containing plastic."

You can read the full article here

Bright Blue's Senior Research Fellow, Patrick Hall, quoted in the Daily Mail

In an article for the Daily Mail discussing the new 'Net Zero' strategy for Britain, Bright Blue’s Senior Research Fellow, Patrick Hall was quoted:

“Insufficient costing of the scheme appears to show the Treasury had won in the 'tug of war' with No 10 and the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy department.”

You can read the full article here.

Bright Blue's Senior Research Fellow, Patrick Hall, quoted in The Guardian

In an article for The Guardian discussing the UK’s net zero plan, Bright Blue’s Senior Research Fellow Patrick Hall was quoted:

“In the tug of war between No 10 and BEIS and the Treasury over funding, it appears as if the latter has won out, and we have been left with a plan which is a welcome start, but doesn’t yet meet the scale of the challenge.”

“The government’s stated aim is to install 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028, so the maximum of only 90,000 pumps to be covered over the next three years falls far too short. The funding simply isn’t sufficient.”

You can read the full article here

Bright Blue's Former Head of Research Sam Hall Features in BusinessGreen’s Net Zero Festival Spotlight

In an article for BusinessGreen discussing the countdown to the Net Zero Festival, Bright Blue’s former head of research Sam Hall explains what the net zero transition means to him.

When asked “What does net zero mean to you?” Sam Hall said:

“We have a responsibility to future generations to prevent dangerous levels of climate change and that means reaching net zero. It's also a huge economic opportunity for Britain to gain a first mover advantage in the industries of the future.”

You can read the full article here

Bright Blue's littering campaign launches in the Daily Express

Bright Blue’s littering campaign has launched in the Daily Express. We are calling for an increase in the maximum fixed penalty notice for littering to enable local authorities to adopted tougher fines towards litter louts.

In the article, Bright Blue Senior Research Fellow, Patrick Hall, was quoted:  “Fines for littering are too low. Behavioural science tells us that higher fines for littering act as effective deterrents, as we have seen in much cleaner cities which are tougher on litterbugs, such as Calgary and Singapore. Governments across the UK should increase the maximum fixed penalty notices to allow local authorities to set much higher fines for littering.”

The campaign is backed by Clean Up Britain, Sea Shepherd UK, and the RSPB.

You can read the full article here, and sign the petition here.

Bright Blue's Director, Ryan Shorthouse, quoted in iNews

In an article for iNews discussing the financial impact towards low-income households brought about by the transition to a low-carbon economy, Bright Blue’s Director Ryan Shorthouse was quoted:

“There will be practical implications for people in terms of how they heat their homes and how they travel, but there is also going to be financial implications. I don’t think we have sufficient policies to help alleviate some of the financial impacts of that transition to net zero.”

You can read the full article here.

Bright Blue's report featured in The Times

Bright Blue’s report, Green money, has featured in The Times. The article outlines the reports three principles for carbon pricing: making it fair; ensuring they steadily raise less and less revenue to be successful; and, that carbon pricing alone is not sufficient to achieving net zero by 2050. The article discusses forming international consensus on carbon pricing.

You can read the full article here, and our full report here

Bright Blue's polling featured in Metro

Bright Blue’s polling report, Nature positive?, was featured in Metro.

“A new survey by environmental consultancy WSP and independent think tank Bright Blue shows demand for better living conditions is underwritten by the fact 74% of those polled support a requirement for developers to enhance the natural environment when building.”

You can read the full article here, and our full report here.

Bright Blue's Senior Research Fellow, Patrick Hall, featured in the Yorkshire Post: Blitz spirit now needed to save planet

In an op-ed for the Yorkshire Post, Bright Blue’s Senior Research Fellow, Patrick Hall, discussed the trends amongst older people’s attitudes and behaviours towards the natural environment compared to younger people, as observed in our polling report Nature positive?.

The results showed that in most instances, older people are more likely to prioritise the natural environment above other policy issues, as well as be doing more to protect it.

You can read the full article here, and our full report here.

Bright Blue's Senior Research Fellow, Patrick Hall, featured in Infrastructure Intelligence

An article in Infrastructure Intelligence has cited the key findings of Bright Blue’s latest report, Nature positive?. Bright Blue’s Senior Research Fellow and report author was quoted in the article: “The public strongly supports the government’s current policies to protect and restore the natural environment. However, the public expect to see the government and its agencies taking a higher level of responsibility than currently to conserve nature.

“The public marginally favours more interventionist policies for the protection of the natural environment over those which are financially incentivising. The public want to see higher fines for littering, minimum product standards, mandatory product labelling and bans on non-recyclable black plastic and non-flushable wet wipes.”

You can read our report here, and the full article here.

Bright Blue's Senior Research Fellow, Patrick Hall, featured in LocalGov

In an article for LocalGov, the findings of Bright Blue’s latest report, Nature positive?, were cited, discussing the public’s preference for ‘sticks’ over ‘carrot’s when it comes to conservation policymaking. The article also discussed our report findings, showing that the public, particularly younger people, support development on the green belt under a biodiversity net gain principle.

Bright Blue’s Senior Research Fellow, Patrick Hall, was quoted: 'The public strongly supports the Government’s current policies to protect and restore the natural environment. However, the public expect to see the Government, and its agencies, taking a higher level of responsibility than currently to conserve nature.

'The public marginally favours more interventionist policies for the protection of the natural environment over those which are financially incentivising. The public want to see higher fines for littering, minimum product standards, mandatory product labelling, and bans on non-recyclable black plastic and non-flushable wet wipes.'

You can read our report here, and the full article here.

Bright Blue's latest report, Nature positive?, launched in The Times

Bright Blue’s latest report, Nature positive?, was launched in The Times. The article outlined results which emerged from the polling in the report, showing that 67 per cent of adults under 35 but only 39 per cent of over-55s supported new development on the green belt if it complied with government plans to require builders to offset damage to the natural environment. Overall 53 per cent supported such development.

Bright Blue’s Senior Research Fellow and report author, Patrick Hall, was quoted: “The government is aiming to build 300,000 houses a year by the mid-2020s to help increase home ownership, which is so vital to the Conservative Party’s electoral prospects. However, we’ve seen pushback from Tory heartlands and green groups about the impact of housing development on local communities and the natural environment.

“Introducing and enforcing the biodiversity net gain principle would help. The public is more likely to support housing development under such a principle, even on the green belt.”

You can read our report here, and the full article here.

Bright Blue Senior Research Fellow, Patrick Hall, quoted in Renewable Energy Magazine

Bright Blue’s Senior Research Fellow, Patrick Hall, was quoted in Renewable Energy Magazine discussing the Government’s recently unveiled Transport Decarbonisation Plan.

The article stated:

The announcement has received a cautious welcome from independent think tank Bright Blue:

“The Government's commitment to electrify its fleet of 40,000 cars and vans is a laudable one” said Patrick Hall, Senior Research Fellow at Bright Blue. “As well as reducing emissions, this will have the added benefit of increasing the supply of zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) into the second hand market, giving those on more modest incomes an opportunity to go electric. However, the Government needs to go further in helping those on more modest incomes, by introducing a Used Plug-in Car Grant for second hand ZEVs. It is imperative that the market for battery electric vehicles – both new and used – grows substantially over the next decade if the UK is to meet its legal net zero 2050 emissions target."

You can read the full article here.

Bright Blue polling featured in Mining.com

Bright Blue’s polling has featured in an article on mining.com which discusses the UK Government’s u-turn on the controversial Cumbria coal mine. The article stated: “A study by the center-right think tank Bright Blue, published in October, shows that most in the UK are skeptical about achieving the net-zero target by 2050.”

In 2020, Bright Blue published a report assessing public attitudes towards the net zero 2050 target and the decarbonisation agenda, titled Going greener?

You can read the full article on Mining.com here.

Bright Blue's report featured in Fleet News

Bright Blue’s report, Driving uptake: maturing the market for battery electric vehicles, has featured in an article in Fleet News. The article outlines several policy recommendations made in the report including; making chargepoint interoperability mandatory to receive government funding; mandating that all petrol stations above a certain size install at least three rapid chargepoints; front-loading the Plug-in Car Grant before phasing it out; and, introducing a Used Vehicle Plug-in Car Grant of at least £2,000.

Lead author of the report and Bright Blue Senior Researcher, Patrick Hall, was quoted extensively in the article, making the case for Bright Blue’s policy recommendations and highlighting the importance of maturing the market for both new and used electric vehicles.

You can read the full article here.