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A coalition of MPs, including Labour’s John McDonnell, unions, and environmental campaigners are demanding the government ensure a shorter working week is discussed at the UN climate summit hosted by the UK.In a letter to Alok Sharma, who was appointed earlier this year by Boris Johnson as Cop 26 president, the signatories urge consideration of the “benefits that a shorter working week could offer in the race to limit the worst effects of climate change”.It comes as the government prepares to host the crucial climate conference in November, with world leaders being asked to come forward with “ambitious 2030 emissions reductions targets” that align with UK’s legally binding target of net zero by the middle of the century.The letter highlights a recent report by Platform London – commissioned by the 4 Day Week campaign – which suggested last month the introduction of a four-day working week with no loss of pay would aid efforts in reducing Britain’s carbon footprint, with a possible reduction of 127 million tonnes per year by 2025.“This would represent a reduction of 21.3 per cent, more than the entire carbon footprint of Switzerland, and is also equivalent to taking 27 million cars off the road – effectively the entire UK private car fleet,” the coalition of campaigners wrote.Alongside Mr McDonnell – Labour’s former shadow chancellor – the letter has also been signed by the SNP’s deputy Westminster leader Kirsten Oswald, the Green MP Caroline Lucas, left-wing Labour MPs Clive Lewis and Zarah Sultana, and Plaid MP Ben Lake.Other names include Len McCluskey, the general secretary of one of the country’s biggest unions, Unite, Dave Ward, the general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), and the general secretary the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union Mark Serwotka.“The evidence consistently shows that a reduction in working hours correlates with decreased energy and household consumption, reductions in carbon-intensive commuting, and enables people to engage in more environmentally sustainable behaviours,” they argued.“We noted and agree with your recent comments that Cop26 marks ‘our last hope’ of preventing climate breakdown and ‘our best chance of building a brighter future’. With such huge consequences at stake, it is crucial that all possible options for bringing emissions down to safe levels are considered.“As the Platform London report concludes, there is significant potential for reduced working time to help combat the climate crisis, and so we ask you to confirm that you will include a discussion at Cop26 about the potential benefits of a shorter working week and the impact this could have on reducing the UK’s carbon footprint.”The concept of a shorter working week has gained momentum in recent years, with Labour pledging at the last election to reduce average full-time weekly working hours to 32 across across the economy. A poll for The Independent found last year that nearly two-thirds of the public and more than half of Conservative voters believed the government should explore the introduction of such a policy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.And earlier in 2021 it also emerged that Spain’s left-wing government was setting up a limited pilot of a four-day working week, with €50m (£43.1m) financial aid to be provided to companies that cut the working week to 32 hours with no loss of pay.Joe Ryle, a campaigner with the 4 Day Week Campaign group, said: “If the government is serious about tackling climate change, then a shorter working week has got to be on the table at Cop26. The evidence increasingly shows that a shorter working week would be beneficial for workers and employers and for the environment.”“To save the climate, the time has come for a four-day working week with no loss of pay,” he added.Mr Sharma’s office has been contacted for comment by The Independent. More

Businesses will have to commit to the UK’s 2050 net-zero target before they can bid for major government contracts, under new rules announced on World Environment Day.Firms will also have to publish “credible” carbon reduction plans setting out their existing greenhouse gas emissions such as fuel usage, power consumption and staff travel.The Cabinet Office said the measures would be put in place by September for contracts worth more than £5m, making the UK government the first in the world to require such commitments.It comes as the UK prepares to host the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as Cop26, in Glasgow in November.“The government spends more than £290bn on procurement every year, so it’s important we use this purchasing power to help transform our economy to net-zero,” said the minister for efficiency and transformation, Lord Agnew of Oulton, in a statement.“Requiring companies to report and commit to reducing their carbon emissions before bidding for public work is a key part of our world leading approach. These measures will help green our economy, while not overly burdening businesses.”Carbon emissions will be reported using an internationally-recognised standard which categorises them under three groups or “scopes”.Scope 1 includes direct emissions from activities controlled by the business, such as fuel combustion in furnaces and vehicles or chemical production.Scope 2 relates to indirect emissions from consumption of purchased electricity, heat, steam or cooling, while scope 3 includes other indirect emissions from business travel, employee commuting, transportation, distribution and waste disposal.While some large companies already report scope 1 and 2 emissions, the new rules will also require some scope 3 emissions to be included as well.Firms failing to meet the requirements will be excluded from bidding for contracts worth more than £5m per year.The government said that the £5m cut-off was designed to “not overly burden and potentially exclude small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) from bidding for government work”.The measures were welcomed by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which represents 190,000 firms employing nearly 7 million people.Tom Thackray, director of infrastructure and energy at the CBI said: “As the world looks towards the UK and Cop26 for leadership on decarbonisation, business is already playing a vital role in driving progress towards a greener future.”The CBI has long supported using procurement policy to ensure government spending supports the UK’s environmental objectives and these changes will encourage more firms across the country to demonstrate their own commitment to net zero when bidding for government contracts.”Partnership between the public and private sectors can make the UK a global role-model, not only in delivering vital public services but working together to tackle climate change.”The Business Services Association, which contributed to drawing up the new rules, said it was “another important step on the road to net zero”. More

The government will this week unveil plans to treble tree-planting rates in England by the end of this parliament.The initiative is part of a an effort to demonstrate commitment to restoring the national environment ahead of the United Nations COP26 conference being hosted by the UK in Glasgow in November.Setting out plans in a speech on Tuesday, the environment secretary, George Eustice, will point to February’s Dasgupta Review, which set out the role of biodiversity in economic growth.He is expected to say: “We are putting plans in place to treble woodland creation rates by the end of this parliament, reflecting England’s contribution to meeting the UK’s overall target of planting 30,000 hectares per year by the end of this parliament.“We will make sure that the right trees are planted in the right places and that more green jobs are created in the forestry sector.”Looking back over the coronavirus pandemic of the past year, Mr Eustice will say: “The events of the last 12 months have led people to appreciate the difference that nature makes to our lives more than ever before.“There is an increased awareness of the link between our own health, and economic prosperity, and that of the planet – as highlighted by the recent Dasgupta Review of the economics of biodiversity.”In a speech outlining the government’s ambitions to create more woodlands, protect peatlands and boost biodiversity, Mr Eustice will say that increased tree-planting will form a central pillar in the UK’s efforts to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.Under the new target, approximately 7,000 hectares of woodlands will be planted per year by May 2024, alongside new initiatives to improve the health of our trees, create more woodlands in cities, and deliver thousands of green jobs.An England Trees Action Plan will set out the ambition of continuing current planting trends for woodlands made up of mostly native broadleaf trees. More

The lone climate activist unfurled a banner reading “Climate Assembly, be bold” as part of a call for a more radical approach from Scotland’s Climate Assembly on Thursday morning.Police officers were waiting at the entrance of the Scottish Parliament and arrested the 61-year-old protester upon descent. The Climate Assembly, which was created as part of the 2019 Climate Change Act, has been accused of being “frightened of rocking the boat”. Extinction Rebellion, the radical climate activism group, said they were part of the assembly’s stewarding group but had pulled out. Justin Kenrick, a former member of the stewarding group, said: “There was never any evaluation of the seriousness of the climate emergency.“There was a lot of focus on being fair to different sectors in Scotland but not fairness to those elsewhere in the world suffering now or to future generations. To be fair in that fundamental way you have to first assess how serious the emergency is, and the assembly never collectively had the opportunity to do that.” More

Savers who want to invest in protecting the environment are to be offered the opportunity to purchase the world’s first green savings bonds. The bonds, to be launched in Rishi Sunak’s Budget on Wednesday, will raise funds to invest in projects such as renewable energy and clean transport to support the government’s goal of the UK reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050.The announcement will come alongside Mr Sunak unveiling in the 3 March statement reforms to the visa system to encourage high-skilled workers including researchers, engineers, scientists and tech experts to come to the UK.The new “elite” points-based routes will guarantee a visa for winners of international awards like the Nobel prizes and will allow highly-skilled migrants with a job offer from a fast-growth firm to qualify without the need for sponsorship or third-party endorsement.Mr Sunak said that the green savings bonds would help drive innovation in the technologies needed to reduce the UK’s reliance on greenhouse gas-producing fossil fuels.“The UK is a global leader on tackling climate change, with a clear target to reach net zero by 2050 and a 10-point plan to create green jobs as we transition to a greener future,” he said.“In a world first, we’re launching a new green savings bond which will give people across the UK the opportunity to contribute to the collective effort to tackle climate change. More

Court proceedings have been launched against a climate charity lawyer for leaking a decision to expand Heathrow Airport.In December, shortly before the Supreme Court’s judgment was delivered giving the go-ahead to a third runway, Mr Crosland deliberately broke an embargo on the decision, making it public.He was referred to the attorney general for contempt of court, and now the solicitor general Michael Ellis has launched proceedings that could lead to his being sent to prison.Mr Crosland said he had no choice but to protest against “the deep immorality of the court’s ruling” when he broke the embargo. The Court of Appeal had initially blocked any Heathrow expansion, ruling that the government had acted unlawfully in failing to take into account the Paris Agreement, which aims to keep global temperature rises to no more than 2C by limiting greenhouse gas emissions.But the Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeal decision.The government says the Supreme Court’s draft judgement was circulated to those involved on a confidential basis, and it was made clear that breaching the embargo might be treated as a contempt of court.Mr Crosland, a barrister, said he broke the court’s embargo as “an act of civil disobedience”.In an article forThe Independent, he wrote that had he not revealed the Heathrow decision early, he believed he would have been complicit in a “cover-up”. He claimed the Supreme Court ruling “concealed” that when the government approved Heathrow’s expansion, it relied on a “dangerous and discredited” climate target.But Mr Ellis said: “After careful consideration, I have concluded that in order that the rule of law be upheld, contempt of court proceedings should be brought against Tim Crosland.“Irrespective of any personal views on any issue, there is no excuse for knowingly undermining court processes and proceedings.”Mr Crosland has also accused the government of hypocrisy in approving Heathrow expansion while hosting climate talks, Cop26, later this year, when it will urge other countries to limit their carbon output.He said: “The government is doing three things. It’s claiming to be a climate leader ahead of Cop26.“It’s supervising the opening of a new coal mine, continuing to spend billions of taxpayer money on fossil-fuel developments overseas and progressing carbon-intensive projects such as investment in the roads, expansion of Heathrow and HS2; meanwhile it’s suggesting that those who call out this treasonous hypocrisy and stand up for the future of our young people, our country and vulnerable communities everywhere, should be treated as organised criminals.”The government and supporters of Heathrow expansion say it would create thousands of new jobs.“It’s the government’s primary responsibility to safeguard the lives of its citizens from threats too complex for us to address as individuals,” Mr Crosland said.Supreme Court judges are due to consider the contempt of court case. More