How building in wood can help reduce levels of toxic air
Poor air quality in London and in many of our major cities is in part due to wear and tear on vehicle tyres and the resulting release of micro particles of rubber into the atmosphere (Guardian 4 October, Every Londoner breathing dangerous levels of toxic air).
Heavy goods vehicles are a major contributor. A shift to building high rise in timber, such as the recently completed Dalston Lane 10-storey development in Hackney, would see a lighter material – prefabricated timber panels - replacing heavier materials – steel and concrete – with a resulting 80% reduction in heavy cement trucks and refuse vehicles to construction sites.
LULUCF vote in Strasbourg
13 September 2017
Paul Brannen MEP: "The much anticipated vote on Land Use Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) last week in Strasbourg took a turn for the worst after a wrecking amendment was tabled to the motion. I felt it removed the heart from the European Commission’s proposal to have a robust forest accounting system to help the EU deliver on its Paris climate change commitments, yet the Commission itself didn’t oppose the amendment, which was equally both confusing and annoying. We’ll be writing to them to ask why they changed their mind on their own proposal.
"In the debate prior to the vote in Strasbourg I expressed my disappointment at the amendment and explained why we needed to vote against it. Here’s an excerpt from the debate including the part where I get blue-carded i.e. challenged in a debate in the Parliament Chamber for the first time."
EPP tables "wrecking amendment" to LULUCF
On Friday 8th September on the eve of the LULUCF vote in Strasbourg, scheduled for Wednesday 13th September, a section of the EPP in the European Parliament forced their group to table a wrecking amendment designed to eviscerate the carefully crafted compromise that the Environment Committee had adopted in July 2017.
Commenting on this depressing turn of events Paul Brannen MEP, Shadow Rapporteur for S&D on LULUCF, commented as follows:
“It has been extremely disappointing to see the EPP cave in on the existing progressive climate change position on LULUCF that was adopted by the Environment Committee back in June.
“The narrow minded view that puts perceived national interest ahead of the wider need for ambitious EU climate action to deliver the Paris Agreement has seemingly won the argument inside the EPP.
MEPs campaign with trees to tackle
climate change
EU politicians from various member states chose their favourite tree out of a selection of 28 native European species to show their support for a new piece of climate legislation on forestry (LULUCF) that the EU Environment Committee voted for today. Here is a full list of the selection of trees we had today (including their Latin names!) :
acer campestre Field maple
acer pseudoplatanus Sycamore
alnus glutinosa common alder
betula pendula Silver birch
carpinus betulus European hornbeam
corylus avellana Hazel
castanea sativa (P9) Sweet chestnut
Euonymus europaeus Spindle tree
fagus sylvatica European Beech
fraxinus excelsior European Ash
Ilex aquifolium (P9) Holly
Juglans regia Walnut
larix decidua (P9) European Larch
pinus mugo Mountain pine
pinus nigra (P9) Black pine
pinus sylvestris Scots pine
populus tremula Aspen
prunus avium Wild Cherry
quercus robur Pedunculate Oak
quercus petraea (P9) Sessile Oak
querqus ilex Holm Oak
salix alba White Willow
salix caprea Goat Willow
sorbus aucuparia Rowan
taxus baccata Yew
tilia cordata Small-Leaved Lime
tilia platyphylos Large-Leaved Lime
ulmus laevis White Elm
Forests - a secret weapon in the UK's fight against climate change?
Five years after the Independent Panel on Forestry Report, Paul Brannen MEP makes a pitch for increasing forest cover in the UK - and calls for a new wave of wooden buildings.
If We Want to Fight Global Warming We Need To Plant More Trees
Am I mistaken or has the cherry blossom been particularly splendid this year? Wind and heavy rain destroys blossom so maybe this spring we’ve had a lack of these two enemies of beauty.
Spotlight on Forestry
It was the coldest day of the year so far but that didn't stop Paul Brannen MEP from pulling on his boots and getting out and about in Kielder Forest.