The Green Tau

Windows of Opportunity

24th December 2023

Welcome the migrant

“Is immigration good or bad? Some argue that immigrants flood across borders, steal jobs, are a burden on taxpayers and threaten indigenous culture. Others say the opposite: that immigration boosts economic growth, meets skill shortages, and helps create a more dynamic society. Evidence clearly shows that immigrants provide significant economic benefits.” (1)

For financial figures here is some research for UCL: “The researchers showed that immigrants to the UK arriving between 2000 and 2011 were 45% less likely to be on benefits or tax credits than UK natives, and 3% less likely to live in social housing. European Economic Area (EEA) immigrants contributed 34% more in taxes than they received as benefits, while UK natives’ tax payments over the same period were 11% lower than the hand-outs they received.

“Later work by CReAM [UCL Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration] calculated that the net fiscal contribution of immigrants from the post-2004 EU accession states (such as Poland) arriving between 2000 and 2011 was £5 billion, while recent immigrants from the rest of the EU contributed £15 billion. Non-EU immigrants also boosted the public purse by £5 billion overall. In contrast, UK natives’ contribution was negative, costing almost £617 billion.” (2)

Sometimes the words ‘refugee’ and ‘migrant’ are used as interchangeable and with the intent of denigrating the other. Th UNHCR provides the following , together with the reminder that all refugees and migrant are individuals who ‘deserve full respect for their human rights and dignity.’

“Refugees are specifically defined and protected in international law. These are individuals who have fled their homes to escape persecution, conflict, violence, serious human rights violations or other events seriously disturbing public order, and who seek safety in another country. As a result, they require “international protection” from another country, where their own country of origin is unable or willing to protect them.

“Migrants are not as specifically defined under international law, but the term has been used to refer to people who choose to move across borders, not because of any direct threats of persecution, serious harm, or death, but exclusively for other reasons, including for work, education or family reunification. Other complex factors may also be at play, such as escaping hardships due to environmental disasters, famine, or extreme poverty. Those who leave their countries for these reasons would not ordinarily be in need of international protection, as they – unlike refugees – would continue, in principle, to enjoy the protection of their own country when they are abroad and when they return.

“…broadly, refugees and migrants should collectively be referred to as “individuals”, “people”, or “people on the move”. (3)

In the following extract from an article written for Brookings International Press, what is written about refugees would be equally applicable to migrants. It outlines how refugees – and migrants – benefit not just the country they move to, but the one from which they have come as well.

“Not only are refugees not a burden, rather they are welfare-enhancing assets. Indeed, accepting, protecting, and empowering refugees is a win-win-win formula: for the refugees themselves, for the country of destination, and for the country of origin.

“It is a win for the refugees for obvious reasons: The earlier a state commits to protecting refugees, the earlier they can move forward with their lives, without uncertainty blocking the way. Most importantly, accepting them protects the most precious right of all: The right to live.

“Accepting refugees is also a win for the receiving country and the communities that host them. By providing them with the right to work, to health, and to education, refugees can start productive lives in their host countries. The faster they can integrate into the labor force, the faster they can become productive members of society.…Receiving countries can benefit in more ways, too. Refugees could play a fundamental role in fostering international trade and investment. Since they know the business environment quite well, they can mediate between business people in both countries who are willing to invest in the local community and trade with local businesses.

“What about origin countries? They can also benefit immensely in the medium- to long-term from the resettlement of their citizens as refugees in foreign countries. First, the countries of origin also benefit from the creation of business networks between them and the countries where the refugees were resettled. For developing countries overcoming conflict, the flow of investment could be crucial for recovery. In addition to these business networks, the refugees can play a significant role in transferring technologies and knowledge back home, which translates into more competitive and diversified economies. In ongoing research with several co-authors, we show how, for instance, the nations that emerged from the former Yugoslavia hugely benefited from the knowledge and experience gained by Bosnian, Croat, and Serb refugees who temporarily resettled in Germany during the war of the early 1990s.” (4)

The following is an extract from an article by ODI, an independent global think tank, about the World Bank’s World Development Report (WDR) on Migrants, Refugees, and Societies. It highlights the important point that migrants should be given the same rights as protection as non-migrants within a country if maximum benefits for all are to generated.

“As noted in the WDR, formal access to the labour market leads to better outcomes for migrants. In practice, this means a strong regulatory system needs to be in place to ensure labour and human rights protection in all destination states, safe recruitment, decent and varied employment options and access to social protection provisions – even for short-term arrangements such as seasonal work. Reticent policy makers should be reminded that, in turn, better protected workforces mean greater net benefits of migration, including taxes for host countries and greater remittances for countries of origin.

“The 2023 WDR shows clearer than ever that migration can be a win for countries of origin and of destination alike, but only when it is also a win for migrants can we ensure that the full potential of human mobility is reached”. (5)

(1) https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/how-immigration-has-changed-the-world-for-the-better/

(2) https://www.ucl.ac.uk/impact/case-studies/2022/apr/evidence-proves-true-effect-immigration-uk

(3) https://www.unhcr.org/uk/news/stories/refugees-or-migrants-how-word-choices-affect-rights-and-lives

(4) https://www.brookings.edu/articles/refugees-are-a-win-win-win-formula-for-economic-development/

(5) https://odi.org/en/insights/migration-can-be-a-source-of-prosperity-all-countries-but-only-when-it-benefits-migrants-themselves/

4th Sunday of Advent

24th December 2023

Sunday reflection (readings are below)

In the reading from 2 Samuel, both Nathan and David learn that the ‘house of God’ as a legacy is not to be found in a temple or any other physical building – which might gives us pause for thought when we think of of the sums of money and the emotional value we invests in cathedrals and church buildings. Rather the enduring legacy that will attest to God’s greatness – and reflect their faithful love of God – will be that of kinship and kingship. It will be in the lineage of those who are faithful to God, following the ways of God, that will be an everlasting kingdom – the kingdom of God.

The passage from Paul’s letter to the new Christian communities in Rome, reminds them – and us – of the mystery of what was there all along yet hidden, and which was revealed in Jesus, the gift of faith. Faith that builds communities, that transforms injustices, that brings healing and new life – faith being about the upside down world described in the Magnificat.

Just as Mary found favour with God, so we too can with faith, find ourselves favoured by God. Recently I was reading a poem, ‘Virgin Birth’ by Joy Cowley, in which she speaks of ‘the Emmanuel space’ within us where we conceive and give birth to Christ. It is a holy space she says which cannot be filled by friends or family (as important as they are) nor by power or status, but only by God. If only God can fill this space, it must be also a vulnerable space. Somewhere we might shy away from as to fill it – to allow God in – is to acknowledge a need for God. So it can be a space we block from sight, hiding it behind other things. Hiding it behind things like power and status, wealth and desire, or behind things that are not unimportant – like family and friends, like the climate crisis and social justice – and so we may struggle on, failing to receive that most valuable gift of God incarnate.

If like David and Nathan we wish to honour God with a temple, we will best do so by adding to the lineage that is the House of God, by being participants in the faithful participants in God’s kingdom, both receiving and sharing the gift of God within our lives on an ongoing basis.

When we think of lineage as a family, we have the image of a trunk from which many branches reach out, dividing and crisscrossing as they stretch ever further out. God’s family tree is more truly a network. It grows as members (and here we should not be purely human focused but recognise all creation as part of God’s kingdom) are open to God’s spirit moving within them. And it is disrupted and damaged when God’s spirit is impeded by our own vanities, self importance, desire for power etc – those activities that unchecked lead to prejudice, oppression, conflict, injustice and war.

As we wait in the eve of Christmas ready to celebrate the mystery of Christ entering our lives, let us acknowledge what is not right in the world and hold onto the hope that it does not have to be this way and that we as part of God’s favoured ones, we can too can give birth to change.

Samuel 7:1-11, 16

When the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, “See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.” Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you.”

But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.

The Response

Canticle 15

The Song of Mary Magnificat

Luke 1:46-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; *
for he has looked with favour on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

The promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Romans 16:25-27

Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith– to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Windows of Opportunity

23rd December 2023

Pay taxes

Paying taxes is an essential part of maintaining safe and sustainable societies. Taxation pays for the public services which benefit the whole of society. Avoiding paying tax is destructive of societies and therefore of individual lives. Avoiding tax – whether as an individual or as a company – is wrong but is is the tax avoidance by large multinational companies that probably causes the most harm.

Ethical Consumer writes “Tax avoidance is shifting profits so you have to pay a lower rate of taxes. It involves using loop holes in tax systems so that you can reduce rates in a way that law makers never intended but which is entirely legal. Often, this means registering sales that took place in one country with a company based in another, where tax-rates are lower. For example, in 2017 Amazon registered almost 75% of its UK sales through a Luxembourg based subsidiary. Tax evasion is hiding profits or fiddling accounts in order to avoid taxes, and is definitely illegal. In 2017, it was estimated that globally tax avoidance was losing nations over $500 billion a year.

“In the UK, tax avoidance is channelling much needed money away from the NHS, housing and other vital forms of public infrastructure. But the cost of tax avoidance is even greater in poor nations. In countries where wages – and accordingly individual income taxes – are low, a far higher proportion of government revenue comes from corporate taxation. This can be as much as 16%, compared to 8% in richer countries.

“If looked at in proportion to GDP, the countries that lose the most from tax shifting are consistently the poorest. In Chad, during 2017, the estimated losses to profit shifting were larger than all of the (non-resource) taxes collected in the country that year.” (1)

In a report published in 2010 Christian Aid estimated “that just two forms of tax dodging, transfer mispricing and false invoicing, cost developing countries US$160 billion every year…roughly one and half times the world’s annual aid budget.” (2)

Not paying corporate taxes also affects the UK’s tax revenue. Corporate Tax News reported this summer that “Amazon’s main UK division, Amazon UK Services, has once again avoided paying corporation tax, thanks to tax credits received for its investments in infrastructure. While the company’s pretax profits and sales have increased, there are concerns about the lack of transparency around its total profits and tax contributions. Critics argue that Amazon’s ability to avoid taxes gives the company an unfair advantage over local businesses. The controversy has highlighted the need for more transparency and fair taxation practices from multinational companies operating in the UK.” And “Amazon invested £12 billion in the UK in 2021. This included £1.6 billion spent on infrastructure, such as more robotics for warehouses and a software development center in Swansea. The company’s sales across its entire UK network also increased by £1 billion, making it larger than Asda, the UK’s third-largest supermarket. Amazon claims that it paid a total of £781 million in taxes in the UK, including business rates, employer’s national insurance contributions, and corporation tax. However, critics argue that this figure does not provide a clear picture of Amazon’s tax contributions, especially when considering the tax credits received in the UK and other European countries.” (3)

Turn this round. Just think how more money could be invested in public services, in tackling the climate crisis, and in addressing global injustices, if all the taxes that should be paid, were paid!

The UN is one of the forums where global tax legislation could be reformed. “Developing nations could have a greater say over global tax rules after winning a diplomatic tussle at the United Nations in New York on Wednesday. A new resolution, agreed by UN members, gives the body a mandate to kickstart intergovernmental talks on tax. The policy area has long been dominated by the Paris-headquartered Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a body largely formed of wealthy countries including the US, UK and Japan. The resolution, presented by the African Group, ultimately paves the way for a UN convention on taxation and a new global tax body, according to campaigners…The resolution was fiercely opposed by some western diplomats behind the scenes in New York, officials on both sides of the debate around the UN’s role on tax affairs said. Some rich nations, including the US, had fought against the resolution in an attempt to maintain a tighter grip on global tax rules. Campaigners want international agreement on measures such as a floor for corporate tax rates, so countries cannot undercut one another, and forcing multinationals to report how much tax they pay in each country.” (4) One of the key campaign groups is the Tax Justice Network – https://taxjustice.net/

In the UK the Fair Tax Foundation campaigns on this issue. “Tax contributions are a key part of the positive social and economic impact made by business – helping the communities in which they operate to deliver valuable public services and to build the infrastructure that allows business to thrive. Via our Fair Tax Mark accreditation scheme, we seek to encourage and recognise businesses that pay the right amount of corporate income tax at the right time and in the right place. We believe that businesses that pay their taxes willingly, fairly and transparently should be celebrated and rewarded.” (4)

As “Fair Tax is at the heart of a fair society, a strong economy and a functioning democracy.” The Fair Tax Foundation also runs a pledge scheme where by individuals and small traders – http://fairtaxpledge.uk/

https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/money-finance/what-tax-avoidance

(2) http://www.financialtransparency.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ChristianAidTaxReport.pdf

(3) https://tax-planning.org.uk/amazon-uk-services-pays-no-coporation-tax-again/

(4) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/23/un-agrees-global-tax-rules-resolution-giving-developing-nations-greater-say?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

(5) https://fairtaxmark.net/aboutus/

Windows of Opportunity

22nd December 2023

Jobs for all in a just transition

As steel plants in the UK switch to electric arc furnaces and the production of green steel, there is likely to be a loss of 5000 jobs. (1) (2)(3) During the slump in the demand for oil during Covid, 2000 jobs were on the line at BP alone. (4) If as is needed, oil production declines there will be job losses.

Similar job losses happened when the UK transitioned away from coal, when the UK lost most of its ship building industry, its motor industry etc.

But need it be so? Surely the green industry offers many new job opportunities

Equally a better financed public sector could – and should – provide well paid and well respected jobs in health care, social care, education, transport, etc.

Friends of the Earth recommend both an apprenticeship scheme to give young people training in job skills that have a long term future, and in investing in new green jobs.

“Green jobs are jobs that have a focus on either reducing carbon emissions, restoring nature or making similar environmental improvements. Sustainability managers in businesses, green transport officers and thermal heating specialists are all examples of green jobs. If we’re to create a greener and fairer future for all after the pandemic, we need more green jobs. Not only will they be good for the planet, they can also help address employment inequalities across the country.

The UK government should invest up to £10 billion over the next 5 years to create 250,000 green apprenticeships in England and Wales, with wage subsidies of 50-100% depending on need. “Devolved nations should receive equivalent funding for programmes within their borders.

Alongside green apprenticeships, we’re also calling for the government to fund £40 billion annually in a green infrastructure investment programme that could create more than 1 million jobs for people of all ages, saving the NHS tens of billions of pounds and delivering other significant benefits like healthier air and warmer homes.

“ Not only do green jobs present a golden opportunity to reverse unemployment, they’re also basic common sense. Right now, young people are being taught and given careers advice on jobs that may not even exist in 10 years’ time. We’re setting them up to fail where we could be training them to succeed.” (5)

(1) https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/oct/22/british-steel-owner-preparing-to-cut-as-many-as-2000-jobs-report-says?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

(2) https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/sep/15/tata-steel-seals-500m-uk-support-package-but-big-job-losses-feared?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

(3) https://neweconomics.org/2023/11/a-just-transition-will-require-steely-resolve-from-policy-makers

(4) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-52966609

(5) https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate/whats-green-job-and-how-can-we-create-more-the

Windows of Opportunity

21st December 2023

Universal basic services

“The concept of universal basic services (UBS) is based on the premise that the first job of good government is to make sure everyone’s basic needs are met. This is often best achieved through collective services rather than individual market transactions. The UBS framework sets out clear criteria that public services should be fulfilling:

Free or affordable access according to need, not ability to pay.
A mixed economy of provision, bound by a set of public interest obligations.
Guaranteed fair pay and conditions for service workers.
Environmental sustainability built into the design and delivery of services.
Devolved powers to the lowest appropriate level.

This framework provides a basis to reimagine the design and delivery of ECEC provision as a universal public service that can better meet the needs of children, parents and staff, while making a positive contribution to the economy, society, and environment in which it sits”. (1)

“Why universal basic services? The UK is wealthy, but for many people it is not prosperous. Our economy is failing to deliver for many people. Forces of anger and resentment have entered our politics, as a growing number of people are left behind.” (2)

UCL suggests universal basic services should cover:

Transport
Food
Information
Local democracy
Health and care
Shelter

A report published by the Social Prosperity Network at the UCL Institute for Global Prosperity (IGP) in 2017 estimated the cost as being £42bn (2.3% of UK GDP) which it said could be funded through changes to the Personal Allowance making it fiscally neutral. It would bring most benefit to,those on the lowest incomes saving them £126 a week in living costs. (3) Equally it would contribute to a healthier, both physically and mentally, workforce.

Anna Coote writing for Taylor and Francis Online comments: “Proposals for UBS have been closely informed by the experience of public services in the UK, where government policies since the 1970s have chipped away at the postwar consensus and at the value of benefits in kind. Changes have been driven by a vision of economic success based on personal choice, private ownership, a small state, and a free market, blaming the jobless and poor for their own troubles and urging individuals to help themselves. Many services, including care for children and disabled adults, as well as housing and transport, have been outsourced to for-profit corporations, stripped down to the bare bones, abolished altogether, or left to the vagaries of voluntarism and philanthropy. Combined with cuts to the value of social security benefits, the effects have greatly exacerbated social and economic inequalities and left more than a million living in destitution.” She goes onto say “The case for UBS rests on two key principles: shared needs and collective responsibilities. It recognises that all human beings have the same set of basic needs that must be satisfied in order to survive and thrive, think for one’s self, and participate in society.”

Coote also sees in the provision of universal basic services, the concept of sustainability as proposed in Kate Raworth’s theory of Doughnut Economics. “[T]he concept of UBS embodies an ethos of collective responsibility and a needs-based approach to human welfare, based on sufficiency. As such, it offers a robust framework for policy and practice that is closely aligned with the goal of living well within limits. It seeks to build solidarity and mutual support among people and groups in ways that cannot be achieved by systems based on market transactions alone. By encouraging an awareness of interdependence and developing practical experience of collective responsibility, UBS can help to create favourable conditions for society to “play a pivotal role in imposing limits” on individual freedom to consume more than is required to live a good life.” (4)

Universal basic services is good not just for the individual and society, but also for the environment.

(1) https://neweconomics.org/2023/11/a-fair-start-for-all?link_id=10&can_id=a3029987c1ac6171de26390e6aabf63f&source=email-news-from-nef-the-budget-property-taxes-childcare&email_referrer=email_2123509&email_subject=news-from-nef-the-budget-property-taxes-childcare

(2) https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/igp/research-projects/2023/jul/universal-basic-services

(3) https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/ideas/bartlett-review/future-welfare-universal-basic-services

(4) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15487733.2020.1843854

Windows of Opportunity

21st December 2023

Universal basic services

Free or affordable access according to need, not ability to pay.
A mixed economy of provision, bound by a set of public interest obligations.
Guaranteed fair pay and conditions for service workers.
Environmental sustainability built into the design and delivery of services.
Devolved powers to the lowest appropriate level.

UCL suggests universal basic services should cover:

Transport
Food
Information
Local democracy
Health and care
Shelter

Universal basic services is good not just for the individual and society, but also for the environment.

(2) https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/igp/research-projects/2023/jul/universal-basic-services

(3) https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/ideas/bartlett-review/future-welfare-universal-basic-services

(4) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15487733.2020.1843854

Windows of Opportunity

20th December 2023

Homes for all

As of January 2023, “at least 271,000 people are recorded as homeless in England, including 123,000 children. Shelter’s detailed analysis of official homelessness figures and responses to a Freedom of Information request shows that one in 208 people in England are without a home. Of these, 2,400 people are sleeping rough on any given night, 15,000 people are in hostels or supported accommodation and nearly 250,000 are living in temporary accommodation – most of whom are families.

“The number of people living in temporary accommodation has risen by an alarming 74% in the last 10 years – something the charity argues is driven by the chronic shortage of social homes, and an over-reliance on grossly expensive and unstable private renting.

“More than two-thirds of families (68%) living in temporary accommodation have been there for over a year, showing this type of accommodation is becoming less and less “temporary” as families cannot escape homelessness due to the severe lack of affordable homes. This is a situation made even worse by the three-year freeze on housing benefit, and cost of living crisis.” (1)

Homelessness causes ill health (physical and mental), disrupts education for children, makes it harder to find and maintain gainful employment, and inhibits the building of resilient communities.

Rented accommodation can be as much of a problem as . “Wright, the chair of the Association of Chief Environmental Health Officers in England, spoke to the Guardian as part of a series shining a light on Britain’s private rental sector. He said landlords had been able to get away with renting out squalid homes because there was no legal minimum standard that private rented properties in England must meet, unlike in the social housing sector. This means it is not illegal for a landlord to rent out a property with the most serious health hazards, though they must have an energy safety certificate.”(2)

“There are now more tenants than at any point since the millennium; one in five of us in England and Wales is now a member of “generation rent”. The sector has never been more relevant, but its problems have also never been more obvious. Renters are handing over increasingly unsustainable portions of their pay in order to live in insecure tenancies, often in dangerous properties.

The government’s promised rental reform bill … aims to tackle some of these issues. Despite this, action on many problems, including no-fault evictions, may still take years to materialise.” (3) The article lists 5 reasons why renters are experiencing increasing problems.

Renting is increasingly unaffordable.

Buying a property is even more out of reach.

The UK is one of the most expensive places to rent.

Current laws make renting an option that lacks security.

The condition of many rentals is poor.

“But we should all be hopeful…. We have enough homes in this country — but the wrong people own them, and the wrong people make the wrong decisions about how much rent the rest of us should pay and what conditions we should put up with. Just as homes were taken out of public hands, they can be put back into them. Rotting window frames can be replaced. Mould can be cleared. Rents can be brought down. We have all the materials to do so — all that’s missing is political will. The government’s, and ours.

“We want to make it government policy to turn private rental properties — including those built by councils which have now fallen into the hands of private landlords — into retrofitted social homes, saving tenants millions of pounds in rent and energy bills, and the earth from millions of tonnes of carbon” (4)

“The most recent government statistics, released in November 2023, showed there were 261,189 long-term empty properties in England. That figure represents a rise of 12,556 homes compared to 2022, up 5% annually and 16% since before the pandemic in 2019. The biggest was recorded in the South West – where there has been widespread concern about second homes – with the number of long-term empty homes rising 9% in just a year. Rebecca Moore, AEH director, said: “It beggars belief that while children are growing up sharing beds in temporary accommodation, our nation has over a quarter of a million homes sitting empty. To say this is a national disgrace is a profound understatement. Long-term empties are a huge missed opportunity to invest in green retrofit and create new jobs.” (5)

Shelter has drawn up the following manifesto ask for the next general election (Read the shorter executive summary [PDF, 7MB])

“Our manifesto asks party leaders to:

Build a new generation of social homes
Make renting affordable
Raise standards in rented homes
Strengthen housing rights” (6)

(1) https://england.shelter.org.uk/media/press_release/at_least_271000_people_are_homeless_in_england_today

(2) https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/nov/13/loophole-adds-to-shameful-rental-conditions-in-england-says-housing-chief?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

(3) https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/nov/13/five-charts-explain-state-uk-rental-sector?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

(4) https://neweconomics.org/2023/04/council-housing-gave-me-a-childhood

(5) https://www.bigissue.com/news/housing/how-many-empty-homes-are-there-in-the-uk/

(6) https://england.shelter.org.uk/support_us/campaigns/general_election

For more groups campaigning for homes for all – http://www.axethehousingact.org.uk/

Windows of Opportunity

19th December 2023

Investing in the grid

“Advanced economies will need to lay at least 23 million kilometres of power lines by 2040 to meet their renewable energy goals, according to a recent report, and on a global level, 80m km of cable will be needed. “If we want clean electricity, we need not only clean methods of generation, but we need to build grids. It has been a blind spot of governments’ clean energy transition programmes of,” said Birol.

“Global demand for components such as high-voltage cables, pylons and converter station equipment threatens to outstrip manufacturing capacity, pushing British energy companies into an international race to secure supplies.

“Electricity demand in the UK is forecast to more than double by 2040 as fossil fuel heating systems and internal combustion engines are swapped for electric vehicles and heat pumps. Heavy industry must also switch away from fossil fuels in favour of clean power. To meet the demands of an electrified economy, the government wants to quadruple the UK’s offshore wind power capacity to 50 gigawatts by 2030, and solar farms and battery facilities storing power generated by wind and solar are expected to mushroom across the country.

“But for every pound spent on clean energy projects another pound must be spent on upgrading the power grids, according to Keith Anderson, head of Scottish Power. “There’s no point investing in renewables without investing in the grid. It’s like buying a new iPhone and not having a cable to go with it,” he said.” https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/25/race-to-get-uk-electricity-grid-ready-for-net-zero?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Windows of Opportunity

18th December 2023

Community energy projects

“Are there public buildings in your community, like schools or sports clubs, that could have solar PV panels on the roof? Or do you have a natural resource nearby, like a river or a windy hilltop, that could be used to generate electricity with a hydro project or wind turbine?

That’s what community energy is all about: people coming together, taking action and using local resources to manage or generate energy for their community.” (1)

“Community energy is about people and communities taking democratic control over their energy future, by understanding, generating, using, owning and saving energy in their communities, as well as working together across regions and nationally.

“The sector is ever growing, and includes a diverse range of projects, people and directions of work and activity. For a good introduction and summary on the diversity, size and benefits of the sector, we recommend starting with the latest State of the Sector Report. Key highlights from our 2022 State of the Sector Report include:

217,489 people engaged in the sector
£3.35m saved on energy bills from the latest activities in efficiency & fuel poverty *
143,000 tCO2e saved in one year of work done by communities ” (2)
Projects included in Community Energy England’s report include things such as car sharing and home insulation schemes as well as energy generation. At present UK legislation obliges community energy generation projects to sell their energy to the UK grid, where it is then sold on to household energy suppliers like Octopus or SSE. This means that prices remain tied to general energy costs, determined by fossil fuels. This legislative obstacle is being challengers by the campaign group Power to the People. For more information on this see the Ethical Consumer report – https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/energy/what-community-energy

This Autumn the UK Government created a £10million Community Energy Fund for which urban and rural communities can compete to secure grants for local renewable energy projects. (3)

(1) https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/how-community-energy-schemes-can-help-the-uk-reach-net-zero/

(2) https://communityenergyengland.org/pages/who-we-are

A guide to getting started – https://communityenergyengland.org/files/document/672/1675676619_CES_CEEChecked-Top10toGettingStarted-Jan2023.pdf

(3) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/communities-at-the-heart-of-new-fund-to-boost-local-growth-and-energy-security

Green Tau: issue 85

18th December 2023

Taking action in the National Gallery

The National Gallery began when in 1824 the British Government bought, on behalf of the nation, 38 paintings from the heirs of the late John Julius Angerstein, a business man and art collector. Thus it is that the National Gallery’s collection is owned by the government on behalf of the British public. Its constitution states “The Gallery’s aim is to care for the collection, to enhance it for future generations, primarily by acquisition, and to study it, while encouraging access to the pictures for the education and enjoyment of the widest possible public now and in the future.”

It goes on to describe it audience as:

Frequent and occasional visitors to the Gallery in London
Those who see its pictures while they are on loan elsewhere, both inside and outside the UK, and those who know the collection through publications, multimedia and TV
Those who live nearby as well as those who live further away in the United Kingdom and overseas
Every age group – from children to pensioners
The socially excluded and the privileged; the uninformed and the specialist; and those with special needs
The worldwide community of museums and galleries
Most importantly: future generations

And further on adds:

“Allow the public to use the collection as their own by maintaining free admission, during the most convenient possible hours, to as much as possible of the permanent collection” (3) (3) https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/about-us/organisation/constitution

The National Gallery certainly aims takes seriously its particular role of caring for a collection of art works that belongs to the British people, and making it fully accessible to them.

Like many museums and art galleries, the National Gallery undertakes a responsibility to facilitate and enhance the educational use of the collection for the benefit of people of all ages and backgrounds. It hosts exhibitions, school visits, workshops and talks, tours, musical events, sketching sessions etc as well as producing many publications relating to the collection. It makes full use of digital technology and the further opportunities that that affords.

Chris Michaels, the director of digital, communications and technology at the National Gallery, spoke at ‘greenloop 22’ – a visitor attractions conference focusing on sustainability – spoke about the practical steps the National Gallery is taking to respond to the climate crisis – such as making positive choices about which electricity supplier to use. He also spoke of ways in which the Gallery could go beyond such operational steps.

“It concerns thinking about how we, as storytelling institutions, can start to think about the future and make sure that the stories we tell live in that future the right way. To me, very simply, art finds new relevance in this time of crisis.”

He expanded on this with examples. “If you look at Canaletto now, if climate change progresses at the speed it is now, and if we don’t make things better, this Venice will disappear beneath the waters for good.

“If we think about artists even as recent as Monet, painting in the late 19th century, there is a picture he famously painted from when he was staying at the Savoy in London. The hazy skies in the picture were also products of climate change, even at that time. This landscape, too, will vanish as London potentially disappears beneath the waters.”

He concluded, “Climate change and the climate crisis, for museums, becomes a storytelling frame to understand the new relationship between art history and our futures. Those hazy skies and their meaning are something I keep coming back to in terms of the way they change our understanding of the past and of the future.” (2)

This September the first UK Museum COP was held at Tate Modern. It issued the following statement: “As leaders of the UK museums, we feel a responsibility to speak out about the current climate and biodiversity crisis and call upon UK politicians and businesses to accelerate action to mitigate this crisis before it is too late. We are already around or beyond crucial tipping points: global temperatures are higher than they have ever been since humans emerged as a species, and extinctions are occurring at around a thousand times the normal rate. There is an existential threat to the world we have become accustomed to.

“Museums are institutions with a long-term view. Many have collections relating to the Earth’s five previous mass extinction events, and we are now in the midst of the sixth, the Anthropocene. UK museum leaders feel they have an ethical obligation to take action to alleviate that damage.”

They went on “We will [u]se relevant collections, programmes and exhibitions to engage audiences with the climate crisis and inspire them to take positive action …” (3)

Clearly there is a growing awareness of the role that museums and art galleries can take in advancing the debate about climate change and in shaping how the public responds to this crisis. But is this growing awareness leading to action at a fast enough pace to be of use? Or are they likely to be overtaken by events?

In some instances they already have. The National Gallery, the Royal Academy, the Courtauld, and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery have all been targeted by Just Stop Oil activists have used popular paintings to make the point that very little – in proportion to the scale of the emergency – is being done to address the climate crisis. Their actions seek both to raise awareness in the wider public, and to call upon the art galleries themselves to demand action from the Government. Similar actions have also been carried by climate activists in France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain,Norway, Canada, and Australia.

What would happen if rather than closing down these actions, museums and art galleries choose to work with activists as they seek to press for responsible climate action? Several museums in Germany have done just this, working with the group Letzte Generation (Last Generation). At the Hamburger Kunsthalle, activists took over the foyer for a non-violent resistance, reading essays and conversing with visitors. Similar essays actions took place at the Ludwig Museum in Cologne, the Museum of Ethnology in Leipzig, the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen, the Rostock art gallery, the European Hansemuseum in Lübeck and the Museum for Communication in Nuremberg. (4)

Works of art, as well as have great value in inspiring thoughts and new ideas, often have spiritual values too. Indeed many were created for religious purposes to aid and encourage worship.

Last week I took part in an action at the National Gallery with others from Christian Climate Action. We gathered in front of a painting of ‘The Madonna and child with saints Jerome and Dominic’ by Filippino Lippi, where we unrolled a copy of the picture which had been digitally altered to show flood waters that half submerged the characters. This we held as a statement was read out describing how for many Christmas is not a time of joy, because their lives are threatened by the effects of climate change. As we knelt prayerfully we sang a version of Silent Night – the acoustics were wonderful.

Sadly security staff quickly cleared that section of the gallery and visitors were not able to participate in the event.
If you would like to see images from the event visit https://christianclimateaction.org/2023/12/15/protest-climate-change-inaction-at-virgin-and-child-painting/

Whilst here is the statement that was read out:

“Why did members of Christian Climate Action gather prayerfully beside a nativity painting at London’s National Gallery, with a different picture to reveal?

“As Christians we celebrate the birth of Jesus, born in poverty as a refugee, to show us the way of love and peace, and justice which is love in action. Christmas is still for the children. But today, world leaders are failing them. As governments profit from weapons and from fossil fuels, babies are born into climate chaos as well as war. In this painting, the baby – like his mother but unlike Jesus and Mary – is white, but we remember those brown and black babies born in the Global South still waiting for climate reparations and most at risk of unliveable heat, hunger, drought, flooding and displacement. We honour those born into poverty here in the UK as inequality widens, and all the world’s children whose future is at risk while the adults in charge pursue yet more oil and gas. We grieve that after 28 COPs, world emissions in 2023 have reached a record high to match all the heat records broken month after month.

“Only with change for good can the young find hope. Christmas lights can’t dispel their darkness. Along with inflatable Santas, magical snowmen and red-nosed reindeer, art like this is hollow and fake. The altered image we held beside Lippi’s painting shows the terrifying reality children face. Sentiment, tradition and festivity won’t save us. The science is clear that new gas, oil or coal will accelerate climate breakdown. We can’t serve God unless we serve that truth. Unless we work for life, justice and peace – with love.

“One billion children – almost half of the world’s child population – live in countries that are climate-vulnerable. A third of the world’s child population is impacted by both the climate crisis and poverty.

“According to UNICEF, extreme weather has internally displaced at least 43 million children in the last six years – the equivalent of 20,000 children a day being forced to abandon their homes and schools.”

(1) https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/about-us/organisation/constitution

(2) https://blooloop.com/museum/in-depth/museums-climate-crisis-technology/

(3) https://fadmagazine.com/2023/11/07/u-k-museum-leaders-issue-first-ever-joint-commitment-to-tackle-climate-change/

(4) https://news.artnet.com/art-world/german-museums-take-a-new-tack-to-prevent-climate-activists-attacking-their-art-inviting-them-in-2307623