For five years, Britain has been vying to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Three years ago, Liz Truss announced the UK was the first non-founding country to formally apply for membership. Now, we might finally be on the cusp of admission to the collection of …

This article was published here. Per some news reports, Britain is about to join the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership). That’s a huge step forward for both free trade and geopolitics, especially because the CPTPP excludes China and Russia and therefore clears the path for other countries who …

This article was published here. After five years of wrangling, Britain is finally set to join a huge trade bloc – the catchily-named Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP for short. The CPTPP already includes big economies and key allies like New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Japan. It is …

This article was published here. In January 2018, the government announced its intention to apply to a little-known trade group on the other side of the world, then called the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Since then, Liz Truss championed the cause and pushed negotiations forward as international trade secretary, and Kemi Badenoch has now picked up …

This article was published here. The conversion of vast areas of farmland in the United Kingdom into so-called “solar farms” is becoming an increasingly popular proposal for new planning applications. In essence, acres and acres upon acres of prime farmland will soon be covered in solar panels, if current trends …

This article was published here. Data suggests that environmental consciousness in the United States is at an all-time high. In other words, more people care about protecting the planet than ever before, with more than half of the US population now thinking it’s more important to safeguard the natural world than to …

This article was first published here. THE pursuit of ‘clean energy’ is high on the political agenda, but the real-world implications of what it means to rush into renewables are rarely considered. Across the country, there has been a recent surge in the conversion of productive farmland to massive ‘solar …

This was published here. VIRTUE-signalling on environmental issues has become endemic. The issue of deforestation is no exception. Almost any major company would jump at the chance to proclaim its devotion to protecting orangutans. Unfortunately, the truth behind the words is often disappointing. The massive contribution to the deforestation problem …

This article was published here. Environmental awareness is on the up. We are now more conscious than ever before of the impact we have on the planet, which is undoubtedly a good thing. Unfortunately, some companies seem willing to cover up their environmentally harmful practices with misleading advertising rather than …

This article was published here. Millions are suffering because of the skyrocketing cost of food. Even as overall inflation begins to fall, food inflation stands at 16.7 per cent. Some research indicates that the cost of several staple foods has jumped by as much as 80 per cent in only one year. Pasta, cakes, …

This piece was published here. You don’t have to look very hard to find companies making big promises on environmental issues, and deforestation is no exception. In fact, almost any major brand will leap at the opportunity to tell you how much it cares about saving orangutans. The reality behind …

Christmas season seems to come around earlier every year – and of course, the annual UN climate conference. COP27, held in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, is already behind us. But its conclusion, which is purportedly when attendees announce the new plans they have come up with and agreements they have …

This article was published by 1828. Friday 18 November marked the conclusion of COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Similarly to COP26 in November in Glasgow, it has been met with a great deal of media interest and hype. Every time a major international climate conference takes place, it seems like …

This article was published by C3. COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt is due to end Friday, November 18th. Much like COP26 last November in Glasgow, Scotland, it has been greeted by much media attention and fanfare. These global climate conferences always feel momentous, but there is a danger that momentum …

The European Commission proposed a new law to halt deforestation and minimise the EU’s impact on forests worldwide. The new law aimed at preventing palm oil and other products linked to deforestation from being sold in the EU single market of 450 million consumers. But campaigners and critics have highlighted …

The European Parliament, situated in Brussels, Belgium, and Strasbourg, France, has passed a law known as the “European Union Deforestation Due Diligence Proposal,” which aims to transfer the responsibility of combating deforestation from the government to companies and consumers. It follows a commitment to phase out palm oil as a biofuel by …

This article was published in City AM. It seems to come around earlier every year – the season of the climate change conference is upon us once again. And, just as at Christmas, promises are everywhere. In Sharm El-Sheikh, politicians, business people and others met for the 27th annual UN …

This article was first published here. A few months ago, I wrote about an attempt to cancel palm oil. There were spurious claims in the science journal Nature and elsewhere that this innocuous ingredient, used in everything from biscuits to hair products, had ‘links to cancer’. Those claims crumbled under quite basic …