Policy area: Environment

Reports

Scoping corruption in voluntary carbon markets

This report from UK think tank RUSI provides an initial scoping review of VCM features that expose them to corruption risk. The Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCMs), designed to channel finance towards environmental preservation and help countries meet net-zero targets through the trading of carbon offsets, are facing significant challenges due to widespread allegations of weak...

Read more

Flying start: establishing the UK as a leader in zero emission aviation

This report from UK think tank Green Alliance examines the challenges facing aviation and explores how hydrogen powered aircraft can transform the sector. Aviation is set to become an increasingly dominant source of UK emissions, growing from 8% today to 59% by 2050 as other sectors decarbonise. The UK’s world-leading aerospace sector, worth £11 billion...

Read more

Reconciling UK migration policy with the energy transition

This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform looks at reconciling UK migration policy with the energy transition. In the recently published immigration white paper, the British government promised to reduce net migration by only offering skilled worker visas to applicants with jobs that pay over £38,700 a year, and which require...

Read more

The climate emergency brake: an ambitious plan to cut UK methane emissions

This report from UK think tank Green Alliance highlights low cost interventions that could mean the UK exceeds the methane emissions pledge target. Reducing methane emissions is the fastest way to address global warming, but the UK is off track in its goal to bring them down. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas over 80...

Read more

UK energy security: the benefits of diversification

This report from UK think tank Green Alliance recommends the government develops a clearer strategy in 2025. As geopolitical tensions rise, securing the UK’s energy supply grows increasingly urgent. This must be achieved alongside reducing emissions and increasing affordability for users. The government’s focus on domestic energy supply overlooks the complex trade offs involved. A...

Read more

A positive contribution

This report from UK think tank Bright Blue attempts to offer a popular and effective set of policies to improve our immigration system. This essay collection is an attempt to offer a popular and effective set of policies to improve our immigration system, rooted in centre-right principles: control, contribution and cohesion. That is, national governments...

Read more

Power losses

This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform looks at what's holding back European electricity trade. More electricity trade is urgently needed to curtail Europe’s risky dependence on gas imports – from Russia, the US and the Gulf – and to speed the transition to net zero. UK offshore wind will be...

Read more

Currencies under pressure

This report from UK think tank IIED examines how currency fluctuations and climate risks impact debt sustainability in SIDS and LDCs. Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs) are facing growing debt burdens, as volatile exchange rates, amplified by climate shocks, inflate the cost of servicing external debt. The reliance by SIDS...

Read more

Piping Up

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at unlocking the potential of independent water companies. New Appointments and Variations (NAVs) were introduced in 1991 as a way of increasing levels of competition in the water sector. They serve an important role in infrastructure development, connecting a fifth of new homes to...

Read more

A better life

This report from UK think tank Green Alliance highlights the green route to growth and security. The UK faces a convergence of serious challenges: rising poverty, sluggish economic growth and mounting geopolitical instability, all compounded by the escalating impacts of climate change. This publication highlights how these crises are deeply interconnected, and rather than viewing...

Read more

Opinion on climate change policy during the 2024 general election

This report from UK think tank Green Alliance examines public opinion on climate change policy during the 2024 general election. In the lead up to the 2024 general election, concerns emerged about whether public support for climate and nature policy was weakening. With political narratives increasingly focused on the costs of net zero and the...

Read more

Living and working more sustainably in a greener economy – evidence review

This report from UK think tank City-REDI highlights the critical challenges facing local governments in creating a sustainable, green economy. Climate change is increasingly impacting the world, with global temperatures 1.28°C above pre-industrial levels as of 2024. In the UK, nature is suffering, with a 19% average decline in wildlife since 1970 and nearly one...

Read more

Conflict prevention under pressure

This report from UK think tank Chatham House analyses how effective the most common interventions are and whether they are fit for future conflicts. With governments around the world seeking to reduce their foreign aid budgets, and at a time of increasing global crises, those involved in conflict prevention face having to do more with...

Read more

Planes, trains and automobiles: how green transport can drive manufacturing growth in the UK

This report from UK think tank IPPR states that upcoming industrial strategy must make 'buying British and buying green' the easy option. Transport is essential to our lives. Unfortunately, it is currently also the largest source of UK domestic carbon emissions. Along with investment in infrastructure, the production of green transport equipment – electric trains...

Read more

The nature of our economy

This report from UK think tank Green Alliance provides actionable proposals across three areas: the macroeconomy, microeconomy and political reform. The Dasgupta Review, commissioned by the UK Treasury and published in 2021, exposed the fundamental flaw in mainstream economics: that it fails to account for the true value of nature. As a result, we continue...

Read more

Related Events

14 July 2025

Location: Online / Chatham House, 10 St James’s Square, London SW1Y 4LE

Think tank: Chatham House

Plastic planet: Can a global treaty stop the world choking on plastic pollution?

This event hosted by UK think tank Chatham House discusses the prospects in negotiating a global plastics treaty amid a divided world. As global plastic pollution continues to escalate—potentially causing $4.5 trillion in economic damages by 2040—the international community is preparing for a critical round of negotiations in Geneva from 5–14 August 2025. This meeting,...

Related Articles

How can cities policy help the net zero agenda?

As COP26 comes to a close what are some of the changes we can make in cities that can help with the net zero agenda? A greater uptake of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is required By Rebecca Foster (Bright Blue) The UK’s pledge to reach net zero by 2050 will ultimately require significant changes to the way...

Read more