Abby Wallace

Belfast, London

Energy and Climate Reporter at POLITICO Europe

Energy & climate reporter @POLITICOEurope • ✉️ [email protected]

Articles

New Heathrow runway will boost annual CO2 emissions by 2.4 million tons, UK admits

3 weeks ago | politico.eu | Abby Wallace

LONDON — Opening a third runway at Heathrow Airport could result in pollution equivalent to an additional 2.4 million tons of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere each year by 2050, according to government estimates seen by POLITICO. The data, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, sets out for the first time Whitehall's forecasts for the additional environmental damage caused if a controversial third runway is opened at Heathrow in 2039.
Ed Miliband buys off his critics on Chinese forced labor … for now

1 month ago | politico.eu | Abby Wallace

LONDON — Labour ministers have a vision. By the time of the next election, they want to see energy churning out across the country thanks to the power of the sun. But the plans have alarmed some members of parliament and peers on Labour’s own benches who fear that, as the United Kingdom rushes to go green, supply chains will become ever more exposed to China’s grip on the global solar market — and to goods made using slave labor.
E&E News: It’s not just British Steel. Here’s where the UK is hooked on China.

1 month ago | subscriber.politicopro.com | Mason Boycott-Owen |Charlie Cooper |Abby Wallace |Nicholas Earl
It’s not just British Steel. Here’s where the UK is hooked on China

1 month ago | politico.eu | Mason Boycott-Owen |Charlie Cooper |Abby Wallace |Nicholas Earl

But its formulation has also been heavily influenced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who visited China in January to drum up Chinese investment in Britain. This same Whitehall tug-of-war between “securocrats” and growth has snagged a second U.K. policy — the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), a public register of the activities of hostile nations in Britain, which will launch in July after long delays.
Surgeons transplanted a pig’s liver into a human

2 months ago | sciencenews.org | Meghan Rosen |Abby Wallace

Surgeons have now published the first report of a gene-edited pig liver transplanted into a person. The liver, which came from a genetically modified pig, appeared to stay active, producing bile and liver proteins inside the brain-dead transplant recipient, researchers reported March 26 in Nature. Such a transplant could one day buy time for people waiting on the liver transplant list.
Buying carbon credits to fight climate change? Here’s what to know

2 months ago | sciencenews.org | Abby Wallace

Carbon credits sold on the voluntary market are under scrutiny for not offsetting greenhouse gas emissions as claimed.
This newbie UK minister faces a baptism of fire on a key Labour promise

Mar 6, 2025 | politico.eu | Abby Wallace

LONDON — Miatta Fahnbulleh is a new MP juggling one of Whitehall’s trickiest tasks: slashing Brits' energy bills at a time the government is strapped for cash. Elected for the first time in July, she was handed a ministerial brief within days. It is a rise so rapid that Fahnbulleh has a red box but still not a constituency office.
Keir Starmer’s aid cuts threaten to undermine UK climate mission

Mar 5, 2025 | politico.eu | Karl Mathiesen |Abby Wallace

LONDON — Keir Starmer’s decision to underwrite a major new defense commitment by slashing overseas aid spending was supposed to signal the British prime minister’s seriousness about global security. But along the way it has provoked a ministerial resignation, an internal party row — and left those in charge of the country’s ambitious international climate policies wondering if they, too, have been hobbled.
The Tories set the UK net zero target. Now they are dumping it

Feb 20, 2025 | politico.eu | Abby Wallace

LONDON — Kemi Badenoch’s new-look Conservative opposition is still working out the policies it wants to put before voters. But the U.K.’s net zero target is already firmly in the party’s firing line. The Tories, while in government, passed legislation to reduce net carbon emissions to zero by 2050. Now Badenoch and her shadow team say the target damages the country — and they want to ditch it. Setting that aim in 2019 was a “mistake,” argued interim Shadow Energy Secretary Andrew Bowie.
Giving Day 2025

Feb 5, 2025 | givecampus.com | Abby Wallace

Why is our goal 1831? Our goal of 1,831 honors the year Wesleyan was founded and reflects our shared history. Every gift helps us reach this meaningful milestone. What is "This is Not a Campaign. This is Wesleyan."? Our most ambitious fundraising initiative to date. We aim to raise $600 million dollars in support of Wesleyan and our students. Learn more about our commitments. Is there a minimum donation amount? Yes, there is a $5 minimum donation. If I make a gift can my company match it?