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UK government's opposition to regulation is putting bees at risk | Caroline Lucas
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By failing to back EU proposals for a ban on pesticides, lawmakers have prioritised commercial interests over ecological wellbeingIn my foreword to the 50th anniversary edition of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring last year, I described my mixed feelings...
We don't need nuclear power to meet climate goals and keep lights on | Caroline Lucas
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It would be a folly to think that there is no hope of tackling climate change without nuclear powerMaking the case for new nuclear this week, George Monbiot admitted that, what with the proposed nuclear waste dump in Cumbria being rejected and Centri...
David Cameron is irresponsible to omit climate change from his G8 priorities
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The prime minister must use the leadership of the G8 as an opportunity to demonstrate that the UK can be taken seriously as a responsible player on the global stageIt's one of greatest threats to global stability, yet climate change is nowhere to be...
Ash dieback: progress at last, but more must be done to protect our forests | Caroline Lucas
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Though ministers finally seem to have begun listening to scientists, strengthening biosecurity demands investmentLast week, environment secretary Owen Paterson quietly published a written ministerial statement on ash dieback, setting out his departme...
Caroline Lucas: The challenge of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring
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On the 50th anniversary of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, Green MP Caroline Lucas considers the book's impactI first began to appreciate the scale of Silent Spring's impact in the mid 1980s, having myself been spurred into joining the Green party by...
Ash dieback highlights the increasing vulnerability of our flora and fauna | Caroline Lucas
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Current levels of international trade and imports means Britain needs to be more aware of the potential for environmental damageIn the debate over the British outbreak of ash dieback, caused by the Chalara fraxinea fungus, that threatens to devastate...
John Hayes must resign for the sake of all our futures | Caroline Lucas
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Cameron's failure to discipline either Hayes or Heaton-Harris is not just about politics – it's about avoiding climate catastropheThis week we were again reminded of how fragile a grasp the prime minister has on his party. In Northamptonshire, Dav...
How can John Hayes have a future in the energy department? | Caroline Lucas
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Cameron must confirm his support for renewables and do something about a minister who peddles anti-wind propagandaThe battle raging at the heart of the UK's energy and climate policy has taken another dramatic turn. The new Conservative energy minist...
Political posturing has limited the potential of the green investment bank | Caroline Lucas
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Cross-party consensus evaporated when it came to a debate on two bill amendments that would have made the bank stronger Writing on the green investment bank a few weeks ago, I had been optimistic about the emergence of a cross-party consensus and th...
Give the green investment bank power to borrow now | Caroline Lucas
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Limiting borrowing puts in peril UK's first green bank's ability to lend and invest in green projects, says Caroline LucasCross party consensus emerges only rarely in the tribal world of Westminster. So when politicians do tentatively edge towards ag...
UK government must show leadership with moratorium on Arctic drilling
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Nature may have thwarted the fossil fuel industry for now, but the threat to this region remains until politicians take responsibilityOn the Shell's website, there is a section devoted to the company's operations in the Arctic. Decorated with beautif...
Heathrow expansionists must drop their third runway obsession | Caroline Lucas
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Those in favour of endless airport expansion must finally accept that there are ecological limits to aviation growthSince all three main political parties ruled out expansion at Heathrow airport at the last election – the Conservatives were especia...
It's time environmental health and public health were governed as one | Caroline Lucas
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Charles Dickens and Charles Darwin knew how closely the two were linked, and politicians now have a chance to catch upIn his 1837 novel, Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens takes us to the world of Jacob's Island, "the filthiest, the strangest, the most ex...
Caroline Lucas: Why I'm stepping down as leader of the Green party
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A strategic approach to leadership is a natural step in keeping with green principles – it's time to make space for othersIn September, I will reach the end of my second term as the first national leader of the Green party of England and Wales –...
David Cameron, it's time to show leadership on climate change and energy | Caroline Lucas
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I am writing an open letter to the prime minister calling for extraordinary boldness to address the climate crisisDear prime minister,I welcome the fact that, after almost two years in power, you used the recent Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) event t...
This tax giveaway to multinationals must be stopped | Caroline Lucas
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George Osborne's plans to change tax rules on UK companies' overseas subsidiaries encourage the use of tax havensThis week is parliament's last chance to amend the 2012 budget: a budget entrenching a strategy for the UK and the global economy that ha...
Ed Davey's dash for gas will not help UK meet carbon targets | Caroline Lucas
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As one of his first major announcements, climate secretary's plans for investment in gas are disappointing newsLast Saturday, the new energy and climate secretary slipped out plans for encouraging investment in gas. Unsurprisingly, his statement –...
Is the government planning a further U-turn on selling our forests? | Caroline Lucas
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There are many battles still to be won to protect our forest heritage and public pressure remains crucialWhen I challenged the government in January over its incoherent plans for the forestry estate, I was dismissed as "hysterical" by the Defra minis...
Why we must phase out nuclear power
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The inherent risk in the use of nuclear energy can and does have disastrous consequencesOn 11 March last year, Japan was hit by massive earthquake and tsunami, resulting in thousands of tragic deaths, as well as a nuclear catastrophe in Fukushima.Whi...
The best use of £50bn QE? Bypass the banks and go direct to green projects | Richard Werner and Caroline Lucas
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Quantitative easing simply hasn't worked, as shown by the fall in lending. The Bank of England should allocate the money itselfAs the Bank of England today decides to introduce a further £50bn into its programme of quantitative easing (QE), it's har...
