What if saving money, creating jobs and tackling climate change all went hand in hand?

In this episode, we leave the policy talk behind and meet the people making the circular economy happen, from repair café volunteers and reuse hubs to engineers refurbishing tools and fashion workers giving textiles a second life.

Their stories reveal five simple reasons people love the circular economy.

This isn’t a distant ambition. It’s already here and people want more of it.

What does effective environmental scrutiny look like in parliament? In this episode, Toby Perkins MP, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, joins Ruth Chambers to discuss cross party working, real time influence on legislation and how committees can drive change, even when government resists.

Environmental rights are under growing pressure in the UK. With new limits on peaceful protest and worrying developments from the recent Aarhus Convention, questions are mounting around transparency, accountability and whether the public can meaningfully participate in environmental decision making.

Ruth Chambers speaks with Chris Packham, Carol Day and Katie de Kauwe. They discuss the impact of recent laws on campaigners, what the Aarhus Convention means for access to justice and why protecting these rights is essential for both democracy and the environment.

AI is evolving at unprecedented speed and regulation is struggling to keep up. What does this mean for the future of democracy, UK climate goals and wider environmental ambitions?

In this episode of the Green Alliance Podcast, Shaun Spiers, executive director at Green Alliance, speaks with Professor Gina Neff, executive director of the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy and professor of responsible AI at Queen Mary University of London. They explore the risks of unchecked big tech and the environmental costs of its rapid expansion: from energy-hungry data centres to the urgent need for transparency and accountability. 

The UK’s long-awaited Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan has finally landed, but what does it mean for climate action and green investment?

In this episode of the Green Alliance Podcast, Holly Brazier Tope, director of politics at Green Alliance, is joined by Sam Alvis, associate director for energy and environment at IPPR, to share their first reactions to the plan. They explore the political backdrop, unpack the risks and opportunities in the plan, and consider what it means for the UK’s credibility on climate ahead of Keir Starmer’s trip to COP30. 

With Parliament back from recess, the Labour government enters its second year facing climate and net zero as both a defining priority and a contested political battleground. Public attention is divided by global insecurity, the cost of living crisis and political polarisation, making the way we talk about climate more important – and more difficult – than ever.

In this episode of the Green Alliance Podcast, deputy director of politics Holly Brazier Tope is joined by Fiona Harvey, environment editor at The Guardian. Drawing on more than two decades of reporting, Fiona reflects on the narratives that resonate with the public, the role of the media in shaping debate, and how government can avoid the pitfalls of weak communication in the months ahead.

In this episode, Liam Hardy and Heather Plumpton, heads of research at Green Alliance, unpack some of the key issues in the debate around carbon capture and storage (CCS), the technology many see as essential for meeting climate targets and others call an expensive lifeline for fossil fuels. From cement plants to gas power stations, they discuss where CCS might genuinely cut emissions, where it risks locking in oil and gas, and why households could end up footing the bill. 

With a focus on fairness, strategic investment and making polluters pay, the conversation comes as Green Alliance publishes a new briefing that delves deeper into these themes, putting forward some recommendations for what government can do.

In this episode, Alice Stafford, communications officer at Green Alliance, speaks to Molly Easton and Layla Mapemba from Youngwilders, a youth-led non profit working to make nature recovery more inclusive. From local rewilding initiatives to influencing national policy, they explore how young people are creatively restoring nature in their communities and why rewilding should be accessible to everyone, wherever they live. With a focus on access, equity and meaningful change, they reflect on the potential of youth-led projects to reshape our relationship with the natural world.

The UK government banned disposable vapes in June 2025, a major win for health, environment and campaigners across the country. But has the problem really gone away?

In this episode, Green Alliance's senior fellow and head of resources Libby Peake speaks to the experts and activists behind the campaign to ban these devices. She’s joined by Scott Butler of Material Focus, climate campaigner Laura Young and Dr Michael McKean of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

They discuss the lasting damage disposable vapes still cause, from toxic waste and discarded lithium to misleading new products and weak enforcement. And with new threats like nicotine pouches on the rise, the pressure on regulators is far from over.