Green Alliance

🆕📕 New report | We've just released our latest report with Zero Waste Scotland on critical raw materials and building long term energy security. Critical raw materials are central components of the renewable technology supply chain and demand for these materials for the global energy transition alone is expected to grow by three and a half times by 2030. The UK is currently almost 100% reliant on imports of all critical raw materials, making us particularly vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and security risks. But there is a wealth of material building up in existing products and infrastructure that, in combination with reducing energy demand, could be reused again for future energy installations, enabling genuine energy independence and security. Our report puts forward a 5 step plan for resource security and energy independence, the UK should: 1. Make access to responsibly mined critical materials an international priority, including in discussions at COP29. 2. Gather and use more data by: 🎯 Introducing product passports 🖥️ Launching a National Materials Datahub to track materials 🧱 Synthesising data from across sectors to better coordinate infrastructure and investment decisions 3. Integrate demand reduction and circularity into industrial strategy and climate policy. This involves mandating reused/recycled content in public procurement, using policy levers to cut raw material demand by boosting public transport and energy efficiency. 4. Build skills in mining and metals processing. A plan is needed to fill skills gaps and improve the visibility of careers in mining and metals processing. 5. Securing investment, including through the National Wealth Fund and UK Infrastructure Bank, which should invest in infrastructure for circular economy, bridge the commercialisation gap for recycling tech, and support private investment in circular businesses with new financial risk approaches. Read the full analysis from Libby Peake and Heather Plumpton 👇 https://lnkd.in/ehxNeWmS #industrialstrategy #resources #circulareconomy

🆕✍ New blog | "Industrial strategy should be central to stronger partnership with businesses." Head of economy Steve Coulter emphasises the need for coherence and effectiveness in the government's ambitions plans for economic renewal: https://lnkd.in/e_VgtbGp

"If we can see that clear trajectory to net zero in the future, that's when you can have a discussion about passenger numbers" Senior policy adviser Johann Beckford talks to Sky News about Monday's announcement that ministers have approved London City Airport's bid to expand: https://lnkd.in/ebPNGqvz

🆕✍ New blog | How much water is used during a typical exchange on ChatGPT? How about when producing green hydrogen or in supplying new homes? As water demand increases exponentially, Nikita Perepelov, head of sustainable development at Water UK explains why it's time for the government to waterproof economic growth. Read the article: https://lnkd.in/eKXvrHZH

I've been talking to the media today about the government's decision to approve the expansion of London City Airport. After some positive first signs on climate and transport from the new government, this is a misstep. At Green Alliance, we back the independent Climate Change Committee calls for no airport expansion until a clearer pathway for aviation decarbonisation is found. The implications for the decision are potentially significant, with bigger plans coming from Luton and Gatwick later this year. How these expansions can go ahead and we remain on track with our climate targets is not clear. Instead, the government should take the climate win of announcing a moratorium on airport expansion for the short to medium term while it gets on with drawing up a new strategy to tackle aviation emissions. Behind the scenes pics courtesy of Alice Stafford 📸 Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom Louise Haigh MP Angela Rayner MP for Ashton

To celebrate #SouthAsianHeritageMonth, which runs from 18 July - 17 August, policy analyst Chanakya Prakash Ranjan treated the Green Alliance team to a quiz on South Asia. 🌏🤔 Want to test your knowledge? Click here to take the quiz 👇 https://lnkd.in/d-wgdT-y

🔄⚡ "A crucial difference between the fossil fuel dominated energy system of the past and the renewables dominated system of the future is that many of the materials needed for new technologies only have to be extracted once, and then they are endlessly recyclable." Libby Peake, head of resources, writes for BusinessGreen on why demand reduction and circularity are key to achieving the government's promises for energy independence. https://lnkd.in/d4S5jACA

Improving energy security isn't just about increasing uptake of renewables, it's also dependent on a clear materials strategy. I wrote about a new report from Green Alliance - shared exclusively with the Green Transition - outlining why. New Statesman https://lnkd.in/es5GmUjk

Great to be able to support Green Alliance with this report on safeguarding resources for UK energy security. https://lnkd.in/euGHXz88 Our transition to renewables is non-negotiable for both our climate ambitions and our energy security. But we must acknowledge that energy security in the coming decades will mean something very different to what it has in the past. Our high dependence on fossil fuels will be replaced by a high dependence on materials many of which we will be competing for with other countries as Net Zero infrastructure is rolled out across the world. We may no longer be subject to price hikes and supply shocks for oil and gas, but instead find ourselves competing for access to critical raw materials such as lithium, copper, and cobalt, which are essential inputs into many renewable technologies. So a new approach is needed, as part of an energy security strategy, that focuses first on reducing demand for critical raw materials, and then on building the capacity for reuse, remanufacturing and recycling to keep them in circulation at their highest value for as long as possible. This would allow the UK to break free of the current situation where it exports many critical materials as waste, only to pay to import them again as raw materials for building new infrastructure. In this report, Green Alliance proposes five steps to greater energy security through demand reduction and circularity.

📢  Exciting #CareerOpportunities at Green Alliance! We're expanding our team and looking for passionate individuals to fill various roles, from entry-level to leadership positions. Join us on our mission to accelerate political action and create transformative policy for a green and prosperous UK. 🌿 Head of research Lead our research initiatives and support policy development with high-quality analysis. 📍 London, UK (hybrid) 💷 £49,169 to £54,437 ✍ Apply by 19 August 🔎 Policy analyst Contribute to our environmental policy work with your analytical skills on multi-partner projects. 📍 London, UK (hybrid) 💷 £33,950 – £37,462 ✍ Apply by 19 August 🌱 Positive Action Trainee Scheme In partnership with Creative Access, we're offering three traineeships (Politics trainee, Policy trainee, and Operations trainee) to gain experience in a leading think tank. 📍 London, UK (hybrid) 💷 £1855 monthly bursary ✍ Apply by 2 September For more details and to apply, visit our vacancies page: https://lnkd.in/dU4i-Uv6 #Hiring #Vacancy #GreenJobs