Philippa Nuttall

The latest edition of our Sustainable Views newsletter Dear reader,

The latest edition of our Sustainable Views newsletter Dear reader,

The latest edition of our Sustainable Views newsletter Dear reader,

The latest edition of our Sustainable Views newsletter Dear reader,

The group of non-profits accuse the European Commission of failing to carry out proper consultations, or environmental and social impact assessments At a glanceSeven non-governmental organisations have lodged a formal complaint with the European Ombudsman against the European Commission’s omnibus proposal on the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and the EU Taxonomy RegulationThe NGOs say the proposal is rushed, not based on any proper public consultation or evidence of environmental and social impact assessments, and is primarily focused on narrow industry interestsClientEarth hopes the outcome will improve future decision making by the commission, including upcoming omnibus proposals on other legislation

Sultan al-Jaber, president-designate of COP28, has promised to make adapting and transforming food systems a priority at the climate talks in Dubai. Food systems create one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN, and the more frequent extreme weather that these emissions can cause also destroy harvests and affect food supplies around the world. So news of Jaber’s pledge was welcomed as “fantastic” by Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of the restaurant chain Leon and lead adviser…

Today’s enlightened consumers may shun plastic straws and avoid plastic bags — indeed, legislators give them no choice in many jurisdictions — but they are swimming against a mighty tide. Plastic’s cheapness, lightness and versatility make it economically irresistible, even though the environmental downsides are severe. According to the OECD, global plastic production reached 460mn tonnes in 2019. Of that, three-quarters ended up as waste — with most going into landfill, but 22mn tonnes leaking…

Cars were a novelty once; so were oil wells, plastic bottles and coal-fired power stations. Novelty wears off, though — and, as the industries concerned acquired global heft, the environmental downsides became ever clearer. But it is not only the giants of the fossil fuel era that must confront the loss of innocence that comes with scale. The huge increase in renewable energy in recent years — a doubling of capacity since 2013, with COP28 expected to produce a push for a tripling by 2030 — mean…

News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication

Environmentalists say unified messaging and policy are vital for behavioural change

Alok Sharma likes to think of himself as a “green growth climate warrior” after nearly three years as president-designate, and then full-time president, of COP26. In a world of high emotion, he won a reputation as a calm and effective influence ahead of last year’s COP summit in Glasgow, and has retained it ever since. “Sharma was not known as a political heavyweight but he was willing to put in the countless hours, and air miles required to build the understanding and trust necessary to broke…

A letter signed by 500 leaders from around the world is calling for a 50-50 split of men and women in the COP27 leadership team