The tragedy of this week’s events in Ukraine bears down on all of us. The human cost of this senseless invasion is heartbreaking, and we must do everything we can to help those fleeing Russia’s brutal assault, including opening our doors to all refugees in need.
As I said on Politics Live yesterday, we must also apply maximum economic pressure to Putin and the elites around him — and target them rather than ordinary citizens. The UK must move faster to freeze assets and confiscate the property of those oligarchs close to Putin. Any delay gives them more opportunity to hide their funds.
This week’s events overshadowed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s new report, which warns that there is now only a small window to mitigate the worst effects of global heating, which threaten the conditions for life on earth itself. Russia’s war risks pushing back action on climate change. This would be a huge mistake: failing to tackle the climate crisis will only create the conditions for more global conflict.
The other threat to climate action comes from those who claim the rising cost of living means we can’t afford to cut dangerous carbon emissions. But the surge in energy costs suggests the opposite. We can retrofit and power our homes with clean, homegrown, renewable sources of energy rather than rely on volatile fossil fuel markets that are at the mercy of global conflict. There is still a pathway to a better future, however distant it may feel in these troubling times.
Universal quality social care Our new report, published jointly with the Women’s Budget Group, finds that planned government investment to transform social care amounts to just 6% of what is needed. We call for a universal care service that would enable 1.9 million extra people to access care and create almost a million new jobs.
Best interest at heart The cost of public debt is lower than it’s been for pretty much three centuries – not that you’d know it from the media coverage, writes Frank van Lerven
The cost of living class war Chaitanya Kumar wrote for Tribune about our research showing that energy bills for the poorest will rise 7.5 faster than the richest.
New Economics Podcast: Tackling the energy crisis We’re back for a new season and we’re now fortnightly, so the Weekly Economics Podcast has become the New Economics Podcast. We’ll continue to discuss the most important economic issues with a variety of interesting voices. In this episode, Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Dr Joseph Baines from King’s College London and Abby Jitendra of Citizens Advice to look at the causes of and responses to soaring energy bills.
New Economics Briefing: Why the cost of living crisis is a climate issue How is the cost of living crisis linked to the climate crisis, and why does this matter? What demands can we make that protect both the most vulnerable in society and the climate? Watch our online event with NEF CEO Miatta Fahnbulleh, Lucie Middlemiss of Leeds University, Maria Marshall of the Independent Food Aid Network, and Fuel Poverty Action’s Alexa Waud.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, violence against women, student loans Miatta Fahnbulleh joins the BBC Politics Live panel.
The right is using the crisis in Ukraine to push for more fossil fuel extraction Chaitanya Kumar argued against fracking as a response to the energy bills crisis in Left Foot Forward.
UK should bring forward tax rises to fight inflation, IMF says Alfie Stirling responded in the Financial Times to news that the IMF is calling for tax rises to control inflation. Alfie also discussed soaring energy bills on LBC.
Skill up to save the planet Miatta was featured in the New Statesman Spotlight, talking about the need to train and retrain workers as the economy rapidly changes. She also appeared on BBC news to respond to the huge profits announced by BP and Shell.
Heathrow vows to make 2019 the ‘year of peak carbon’ Research by Alex Chapman showing that the carbon cost of emissions resulting from Heathrow’s proposed expansion has doubled was mentioned in Business Green. Alex also reacted to news that the Bristol Airport expansion will be going ahead in the Bristol Cable.
Universal Credit: Millions missing out on benefit payments of £7,300 a year NEF research on the case for making benefit payment automatic was covered in the Daily Express.
The Agony and the Energy Lydia Prieg appeared on the Bloomberg Westminster podcast to talk about the upcoming national insurance hike and why it’s a bad idea.
