Policy Manager at The Institution of Civil Engineers. Areas of interest include sustainability and fighting the climate crisis, policy development, communications and stakeholder engagement.
IPW: New Zealand and the UK look into making the most of infrastructure investment
In this Infrastructure Policy Watch, New Zealand and the UK report on how to maximise the value of infrastructure.
The UK public wants to contribute to net zero – but they need support
I wrote a report for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Infrastructure (APPGI) and the ICE focused on net-zero aligned behaviour change.
It also includes public polling and focus group research carried out on behalf of the ICE by Thinks Insight & Strategy (Thinks).
This research focused on potential changes in public behaviour over the next 12 months across home heating and transport.
The research found that 57% of the UK population is open to change and makes 5 key recommendations.
APPGI and ICE policy paper: what are the public behavioural changes required to meet net zero?
The UK is committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. To meet 2050 targets, significant public behaviour change will be needed.
Yet, to change their behaviour, the public needs the support of policymakers and businesses – as well as an infrastructure system that will empower them to make the right choices.
My paper draws on evidence, focus groups and polling from expert stakeholders across infrastructure and civil society, including engineering companies, energy and environmental experts, and ICE members.
The cost of net zero
I was published as a spokesperson on behalf of the ICE in an Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) piece on financing and funding net zero, alongside academics from the University of Oxford and head of capital markets and investment A4S, a charity founded in 2004 by King Charles, brings together the global finance community to help shift policy and practice in a direction that supports sustainable environmental outcomes.
IPW: digital to fast-track climate solutions, and South Africa’s infrastructure delays
In this week’s Infrastructure Policy Watch, the World Bank advocates for digital, while project delays in South Africa affect taxpayers.
How can the public play its part in the race to net zero?
For our ICE policy programme on net zero and public behaviour, we discuss how the government can empower people to decarbonise.
Presidential Roundtable summary: how do we deliver an electricity grid fit for the net zero transition?
Countries worldwide are facing the same challenge: how do they quickly decarbonise their power networks while also reliably meeting the energy demands of their populations?
The ICE convened a virtual roundtable in conversation with senior infrastructure experts globally, chaired by ICE President Anusha Shah.
This roundtable examined the challenges countries are facing in terms of delivering grid upgrades in the timescales needed, exploring what decisions need to be made quickly and what the power sector needs from governments to be able to deliver.
Why the UK government’s response to the CCC’s adaptation progress report falls short
The UK government’s response to the Climate Change Committee’s report doesn’t provide the policy needed to ensure climate resilient infrastructure.
Earlier this year, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) published a on the UK’s efforts to adapt to climate change in the last two years.
The report identified that the UK’s current approach to resilience and adaptation is unfit for purpose.
This reflects a wider global issue identified by the UN environment Programme that progress on climate adaptation has been too slow.
ICE and APPGI green paper: what are the public behavioural changes required to meet net zero?
This ICE and All-Party Parliamentary Group on Infrastructure green research paper I have written focuses on:
- the changes required in public behaviour to achieve a net zero infrastructure system;
- what a public engagement strategy to deliver this could look like; and
- the barriers and mechanisms that impact behavioural change.
The paper also contextualises the current setting around net zero.
How can changes in public behaviour help reach net zero?
The ICE welcomes responses to a consultation on what the public can do differently to support the net zero transition.
The UK is committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Public behaviour has a crucial part to play and can impact the reduction of future emissions.
Some changes that affect the public in the net zero transition will be decided nationally by the government. For example, different energy mixes.
However, many solutions will depend on personal choices.
Long-term infrastructure planning at the heart of 2023 Labour conference
Earlier in October, the ICE joined thousands of delegates at the 2023 Labour Party Conference in Liverpool to promote the institution’s work and influence key infrastructure debates.
The overarching theme was delivering growth. Opposition leader Keir Starmer’s keynote speech looked ahead to a “decade of renewal”, with Labour as the “builders”.
With a general election still months away, in-depth policy detail was light – but the party set a clear direction in several areas.
ICE submission to the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) inquiry into heat resilience and sustainable cooling
The Environmental Audit Committee has undertaken an inquiry looking into heat resilience and sustainable cooling.
I led on the ICE's submission to the Commitee based on a previous paper I published on climate resilience and adaptation.
IPW: New Zealand delivers more transport routes, and Australia targets construction productivity
In this week’s Infrastructure Policy Watch, New Zealand focuses on transport, while Australia looks to improve future productivity.
5 things the UK’s new climate adaptation plan means for infrastructure resilience
The UK government has published NAP3, its latest five-year plan to improve climate resilience – but there is a troubling lack of urgency.
Here are the headline takeaways for infrastructure.
ICE submission to the Department for Transport consultation on the revised National Networks National Policy Statement
This submission discusses the ICE’s views on the revised NNNPS including:
- How the NNNPS needs to be clearer on how project benefits and impacts in the devolved nations will be considered in assessing projects that are physically situated within England. For example, projects developed to improve rail and strategic road connections to Scotland (HS2 services to Scotland and A1 north of Newcastle).
The need for national networks has been well established within the NNNPS.