Good news

So much good news this last week or so:

-         the UK has committed to stop new finance for overseas oil, gas and coal projects

-         Jo Biden is appointing some very progressive environmental people

-         a coroner in London has ruled for the first time that air pollution made a material contribution to the death of Ella Kissi-Debrah which will likely impact on new builds

-         the Government’s independent advisors suggests the UK can make major cuts to carbon emissions more cheaply than previously thought and mapped an achievable path to reaching Britain’s emissions targets, which included strong endorsements of agroforestry and eating less and better meat. Climate Change Committee Report calls for decisive decade

-         in the Energy White Paper, the government committed to a smart and flexible electricity system based on wind and solar.

-         The Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan committed to the end of the internal combustion engine in less than a decade

-         even the Supreme court ruling on allowing Heathrow’s third runway to proceed is a technical one and gives ground for hope of stopping it in the planning stages.

Although the pandemic has not made as much impact as many hoped initially, 2020 ends with signs of progress for tackling this - the biggest issue of our time. For that at least we should be thankful.