Latest posts
The solar industry needs to know the UK government can be trusted | Caroline Lucas
If policy can be changed retrospectively, why should business believe that the UK is a safe place to invest?This week, the government lost its appeal against a judge's ruling that its move to change the rates for solar feed-in tariffs before the offi...
The government and the companies are failing to save water, but let's do our bit | Caroline Lucas
As water shortages become more common because of climate change, the environment is the first to sufferIt may seem bizarre to be thinking about hosepipe bans when today it's bucketing down – but in my own patch, South East Water is running short of...
We need to design a new economic order | Caroline Lucas
I want a debate about how we move away from today's failed economic order and build a new one that is socially just and ecologically sustainableIn a month dominated by the political and economic crisis in Europe, those of us following events at the C...
Durban climate talks: we still have a chance to talk about success | Caroline Lucas
Political will for the capitalisation and operation of a climate adaptation fund would represent positive progressAs politicians, negotiators, campaigners and journalists steel themselves for the crucial second week of the COP17 talks in Durban, it'...
'Schoolboy mentality hampers political debate'
Westminster is a bizarre microclimate in which old-fashioned gender stereotypes are revived with alarming regularityWhen I first entered parliament more than 18 months ago, it hit me how anachronistic and detached from reality the place is.
Solar has been too successful – that's why tariffs were cut | Caroline Lucas
The premature FIT cuts are going to wreck green industry and damage the case for community and business schemesThe government landed a body blow to the solar industry this week by announcing that feed-in tariffs to support the installation of solar P...
Planning reforms are bigger threat to our countryside than forest sell-off | Caroline Lucas
Every field, hedgerow, marsh, heath and moor is jeopardised by these proposals – as is our local democracyGiven the public's emphatic rejection of the plans to sell off our forests, you might have thought the government would tread more carefully w...
Fracking must be halted until we know more
So what if 200tr cubic feet of shale gas lives under Blackpool. The industry, and the impact of fracking, are unknown quantitiesCuadrilla Resources, the energy firm leading the controversial drilling for shale gas in the UK, has made its initial esti...
To recover from the riots we must rebalance the inequalities of society | Caroline Lucas and Jenny Jones
Post-riot policies must be balanced, humane and realistic if we are to bring society together, not pull it further apartEarlier this month a spate of terrifying violence and disorder erupted on to our streets. Communities were terrorised, individuals...
Air quality: the UK's invisible health crisis | Caroline Lucas
The government appears to be disinterested in the UK's pollution problem, which cuts short thousands of lives each yearIt's an invisible health crisis which causes thousands of premature deaths in the UK every year. It can lead to asthma, reduce lung...
Solar energy is at a crossroads – and the government must do a U-turn | Caroline Lucas
The government has a choice – invest in solar and create jobs, or slash subsidies and cripple British industrial growthMark Twain once said that he was "seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one". I sometimes wonder if this go...
Energy bill must pay even more attention to efficiency | Caroline Lucas
As an energy bill committee member, I'm not convinced the government's key proposals do enough to fight fuel povertySince I secured a place on the energy bill committee last month, a sizeable chunk of my parliamentary schedule has been given over to...
Environment white paper lacks policy, ambition and Defra's backing | Caroline Lucas
While the white paper is welcome, a closer look suggests it is not currently up to the task – and Defra appears to know itThe government published its natural environment white paper last week – the first of its kind for 21 years. That fact alone...
How palm oil jeopardises global efforts to reduce emissions | Caroline Lucas
While governments commit to biofuels as a solution to reduce emissions, they are contributing to a destructive palm oil tradeIn my mail bag at the end of last week was a letter from the minister for agriculture and food, Jim Paice, responding to que...
Carbon budget: Could this be the greenest government ever? | Caroline Lucas
Actions speak louder than words - what is the coalition's environmental record so far?It seems a deal has finally been brokered on the UK's long-term climate change targets, with an announcement expected this afternoon from the energy and climate cha...
This energy bill is not so green | Caroline Lucas
Shrinking the state is no way to deliver the 'greenest government ever'. Cameron's energy bill is light on detail and lacks ambitionThis is a critical year for energy and climate change policy. Key government decisions are due in the coming months on...
The green argument for voting 'Yes to AV' | Caroline Lucas
The AV referendum is a chance for you to make sure your green concerns are heard, not swallowed by tactical votingThe AV referendum on 5 May will be the first time that the British people have been asked for their say on how we do politics in Westmin...
AV referendum: why progressives must unite to vote yes
John Denham, Chris Huhne and Caroline Lucas explain why Labour, Lib Dem and Green voters must put aside party differences to change British politicsYou cannot build a fair society on an unfair politics. Britain consistently votes as a centre-left cou...
The Sustainable Communities Act is a victory worth celebrating | Caroline Lucas
The potential for communities to reshape the world around them is immenseCampaigning on environmental issues is often frustrating. So victories need to be savoured – both to celebrate what has been won or saved, and to draw encouragement for other...
George Osborne's budget is a betrayal of our environment | Caroline Lucas
The chancellor has missed a huge opportunity to turn environmental necessity to our economic and social advantage and end our dependency on fossil fuelsThe first full budget from a government claiming to be the "greenest ever" is a betrayal of our en...
