The ECO Channel’s Post

The UK government launched the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) in June 2021 to help achieve its target of creating 7,000 hectares of new woodland annually by 2025. This in turn will contribute to legally binding targets for the UK to become net-zero in carbon emissions by 2050. How could robust financial support through the EWCO and other grants help landowners across England establish diverse woodlands? https://lnkd.in/eyq3BfJq

Tomorrow, the Canadian Wood Council, alongside Forest Products Association of Canada, The Transition Accelerator/ L’Accélérateur de transition, and Energy Futures Lab, will unveil a comprehensive roadmap for advancing Canada's mass timber sector. This roadmap will highlight how mass timber can revolutionize construction with speed, cost-effectiveness, and environmental benefits, while also creating employment opportunities in rural communities. Discover how #TheMassTimberRoadmap can strengthen Canada’s climate resilience and drive economic growth.

🌟 What's in the Autumn Budget for Nature? 🌟 The recent Autumn Budget by Chancellor Rachel Reeves may not have spotlighted nature in her speech, but when you dig deeper, there's some positives but I only wish there was far more to really drive the green revolution. 🌍🌱 The UK Government has earmarked £400 million for peatland restoration and tree planting over the next two years. A further £2.4 billion has been allocated for flood resilience, which we hope will include measures for nature-based solutions such as water retention and flood attenuation. Additionally, the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra) will see its budget rise to £7.5 billion in 2025-26. There's £58 million designated for research and innovation in climate resilience and net zero goals, with hopes that it will align with nature-related projects. Moreover, infrastructure and housing development will receive a £70 million boost in 2025-26, including £14 million for the Nature Restoration Fund. If you have thoughts or need a recruitment partner who shares your passion for sustainability, don't hesitate to get in touch: jeremy@jsm-associates.co.uk 📧 07814 002240 📞 #Sustainability #EnvironmentalFunding #UKBudget2024

🌳Through a joint investment with Government of New Brunswick / Gouvernement du Nouveau-Brunswick, close to 53 million trees will be planted in support of the federal government’s commitment to plant two billion trees across Canada. This project will leverage New Brunswick’s existing silviculture framework to: 🌱 plant climate-resilient trees on public lands; 💚 help regulate extreme weather events; and, 🔋 sequester emissions. 🍂 Learn more about the program: https://ow.ly/VEIq50UfXkn #2BillionTrees

Now with just less than two weeks to go until polling day, the industry is digesting what the Party Manifesto's means for existing projects and investment decisions. With battle lines drawn over housing, and much already written about the 'grey belt', Lichfields have put together a quick reference guide on the key differences being promoted in the race for No.10. https://lnkd.in/g-tbhPjS

#NewInTheHood The UK just announced a new £88 billion 5-year investment plan to revamp its water industry. This is 3 times more than its last quinquennial plan. The plan will be financed by an increase in water bills, but the money will be ring-fenced for new infrastructural investments to avoid shareholder looting. But the plan still presupposes that water companies will need to raise new equity and debt from capital markets, but given the poor financial state of some of these companies, is this even possible? On the other side of the equation, will consumers accept a raise in water bills to pay for past financial wrongdoings? Can trust be restored? Learn more about these new investments and how the country is faced with a conundrum on how to finance them. Today in White Stag Insights' free article. #investing #water

Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin has welcomed Scottish Water’s completion of the installation of 1,000 sewer overflow monitors. This is part of a £500m programme of investment to transform its network and improve the country’s water environment. More: https://bit.ly/4iLM8WX

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is pledging to deliver growth for the UK economy and is seemingly willing to embrace Trumpism, to weather rebellions from Labour MPs, and to potentially side-line nature to do so. Her plans for the economy, announced today, include government support for a third runway at Heathrow, new housing developments in and around Cambridge, and a £7.9 billion commitment to nine new reservoirs. Reeves stated that ‘without growth, we cannot meet our climate goals.’ This contention is also true in the inverse as without a stable climate, there can be no growth. It was disappointing, therefore, to see the Chancellor’s speech pit the two against each other, representing nature protections as a roadblock to success, particularly in the development sector. Reeves committed to ‘reducing the environmental requirements placed on developers, so they can focus on getting things built and stop worrying about bats and newts.’ This rhetoric unhelpfully minimises nature and its value, implying that these two tiny creatures are too small and insignificant for developers to be concerned with as they build our way to the future. Zeroing in on bats and newts distracts from what nature really is; the foundation on which all human life – and therefore, growth – is built. This rhetoric is also at odds with nature positive policies including Biodiversity Net Gain requirements and the new Nature Restoration Fund, which aim to incorporate improving nature into development projects. These policies make it clear that the government understands that protecting and improving nature is an integral part of continued, sustained growth. We hope to see the Chancellor use less reductive language toward nature in future. https://lnkd.in/enjgzFvb

🏘️ The EU is getting its first housing commissioner. This could be a prime opportunity to tackle many of our challenges. Buildings account for nearly 40% of GHG emissions - while energy bills have surged and Europe is experiencing an unprecedented housing crisis. A just transition to decarbonising our built environment is the defining challenge of our generation. And we’re ready to tackle it. Urgent action is needed to address: 🏗️ Renovation and regeneration 🏡 Affordable housing 👷 Skills, jobs, and development ♻️ Quality materials, reduced carbon, and a circular economy Together with other NGOs, trade unions, businesses and local governments, we advocate for this Commissioner to support a sustainable future for housing and the climate: https://lnkd.in/dsZaBFMX

While areas of the Land Reform Bill are welcome, as currently drafted the Bill won’t make a significant material change. Our Co-Director Laurie Macfarlane giving evidence at the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee on the need to transform land ownership, governance and use to tackle today’s challenges.