Big Issue celebrates change makers who have made an impact

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The Big Issue has named people or groups they believe are responsible for innovative change.

The magazine has published a list of 100 so-called “change makers” in areas including homelessness, sustainability, refugees and health.

They range from the UK’s first clothing brand created, designed and hand-produced by young ex-offenders, to a former Royal Navy officer whose work highlighted the experiences of veterans affected by the military’s LGBT ban.

One group is Young Changemakers; individuals aged 25 and under who are said to be making a significant impact in their communities.

Famous friends of the Big Issue were also invited to nominate change makers.

Actress Jodie Whittaker nominated the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice.

She said: “The hospice contributes to our community in a way that some people are lucky enough to not know about.

“There are so many positive effects of having children’s hospices within driving distance for people.”

Paul McNamee, editor of The Big Issue, said: “For the first time, we have a list drawn from public nominations, showing both the goodwill and wisdom of Big Issue readers and supporters and also of the people and organisations they’ve stood up for.

“To all the creators, the agitators, the activists and the thinkers, to those doing their best to make things better, we celebrate and thank you all.

“This is a list to inspire and to shout long and loud about.”

Published: 22/01/2024 by Radio NewsHub

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World on track for catastrophic 31C of global warming this century UN warns

The world is on track for a “catastrophic” 3.1C of global warming, the UN has warned as it called for massive efforts to cut the emissions driving climate change. In its annual report on the gap between the emissions cuts needed to limit global warming to 1.5C and what countries are doing and have pledged to do, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said the goal would “soon be dead” without a global mobilisation on a scale and pace never seen before. It warned the world was currently on track for temperature rises of 2.6C to 3.1C, depending on how much of the currently promised climate action is delivered. The warning comes ahead of this year’s UN Cop29 talks in Baku, in fossil fuel-rich Azerbaijan, where nations are facing calls to agree bolder action to scale up finance for developing countries to tackle climate change, and to close the emissions gap. Countries agreed to limit temperature rises to “well below” 2C and pursue efforts to curb them to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels at the Paris climate talks in 2015. Scientists have warned that there is no safe amount of climate change, but 1.5C has come to be seen as a threshold beyond which the worst impacts of climate change-driven heatwaves, droughts, floods, collapse of natural systems and rising sea levels will be felt. Nations have set out country-level action plans, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), for meeting the Paris targets, through cutting emissions from activities such as burning fossil fuels and creating or restoring habitats such as forests to capture carbon, up to 2030. But, as countries prepare to submit the next set of plans for action up to 2035 in the next few months, UNEP is warning the goal of preventing dangerous warming is slipping out of reach. The report said global greenhouse gases are still rising, and were up 1.3% in 2023 on 2022 levels – a faster increase than the average over the past decade – with the G20 group of leading economies accounting for more than three quarters (77%) of emissions. The world is facing long term global warming of 3.1C on current policies, and even if countries delivered on their climate plans up to 2030, it would lead to temperature rises of 2.6C-2.8C, the report said. But countries are off-track even for those plans. Responding to the report, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said the world was “teetering on a planetary tightrope”. “Either leaders bridge the emissions gap, or we plunge headlong into climate disaster – with the poorest and most vulnerable suffering the most,” he said. He said already people were suffering from monster hurricanes, biblical floods and record heat which was turning forests into tinder boxes and cities into saunas, and warned “current policies are taking us towards a catastrophic 3.1C temperature rise by the end of the century”. He said governments must drive down all greenhouse gas emissions, weaning the world off fossil fuels, accelerating the rollout of renewables and halting and reversing deforestation, and agree a new finance goal at Cop29 to unlock the huge sums of money developing countries need to tackle climate change. Inger Andersen, executive director of UNEP, said: “Climate crunch time is here. We need global mobilisation on a scale and pace never seen before – starting right now, before the next round of climate pledges – or the 1.5C goal will soon be dead and well below 2C will take its place in the intensive care unit.” She urged nations meeting for Cop29 to increase action now, set the stage for stronger national plans and then “go all-out to get on a 1.5C pathway”. And she said: “Even if the world overshoots 1.5C – and the chances of this happening are increasing every day – we must keep striving for a net-zero, sustainable and prosperous world. “Every fraction of a degree avoided counts in terms of lives saved, economies protected, damages avoided, biodiversity conserved and the ability to rapidly bring down any temperature overshoot.” Nations must collectively commit to cut 42% off annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and 57% by 2035 in the next round of NDCs to achieve the 1.5C goal, UNEP warned. It is technically feasible to deliver such a cut, by tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030, ramping up energy efficiency improvements, shifting away from fossil fuel use and protecting and restoring natural habitats such as forests and mangroves. But there must be a massive globalisation effort to cut the global greenhouse gases driving rising temperatures, starting today and led by the G20, UNEP said. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “This report is yet another clarion call about the need for global leadership to protect our way of life and home for future generations. “Thanks to the falling costs of renewables, we can tackle the climate crisis in a way that not only protects future generations, but makes people today better off with energy security, lower bills and good jobs.” He claimed Britain was “back as a climate leader” with its plans to make the country a “clean energy superpower”. Published: 24/10/2024 by Radio NewsHub

Reeves confirms change to debt rule and warns of higher taxes as Budget looms

Taxes and borrowing are both set to increase as Rachel Reeves signalled she would rewrite the way Government debt is measured in her first Budget. The Chancellor said she faced difficult choices but insisted her Budget would “begin to fix the NHS and start to rebuild our economy”. The cost of Government borrowing increased in response to speculation the Chancellor would change debt rules to spend billions more on investments. Tory former chancellor Jeremy Hunt said increased borrowing could increase the cost of mortgages for hundreds of thousands of households. During a round of broadcast interviews while attending the International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington DC, Ms Reeves confirmed a technical change in the way she would measure progress against the target of managing debt. Writing in the Financial Times, Ms Reeves said her fiscal rules would be “the rock of stability at the core of my Budget”. Labour’s 2024 election manifesto said Ms Reeves would follow two rules: The current budget would be in balance so that day-to-day costs are met by revenues. The second rule is that debt must be falling as a share of the economy by the fifth year of the economic forecast. On Thursday she confirmed that the way debt is measured as part of that target would be changed to allow greater flexibility. Ms Reeves said: “My fiscal rules will do two things. The first and most important: my stability rule will mean that day-to-day spending will be matched by revenues. “Given the state of the public finances and the need to invest in our public services, this rule will bite hardest. “Alongside tough decisions on spending and welfare, that means taxes will need to rise to ensure this rule is met. I will always protect working people when I make these choices, while taking a balanced approach. “Crucially, my stability rule will also cover the interest on our national debt and unlike the previous government I won’t cut capital budgets to make up for shortfalls in the day-to-day running costs of departments. “My second fiscal rule, the investment rule, will get debt falling as a proportion of our economy. “That will make space for increased investment in the fabric of our economy, and ensure we don’t see the falls in public sector investment that were planned under the last government.” She told ITV News: “Our second rule, our investment rule, will change the way in which we measure government debt so we take into account our assets not just the costs of investment.” She is expected to target public sector net financial liabilities (PSNFL) as her new benchmark for government debt rather than the current measure of underlying public sector net debt. A shift to PSNFL would give her greater headroom to meet her debt reduction target, because it includes a wider mix of state assets and liabilities – notably including expected student loan repayments to offset some of the liability. Had PSNFL been used as the debt target in the March 2024 budget, the “headroom” – the margin by which the fiscal rule is met – would have increased by £53 billion according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. She told ITV: “What I hope that people will see in the Budget next week is that I’m a responsible Chancellor being honest and transparent about the situation with the public finances and indeed the trajectory for public services, but that – in that situation and the difficult choices – that we’ve done everything in our power to protect working people, to begin to fix the NHS and to start to rebuild our economy and fix the foundations of our economy.” Ms Reeves told the BBC that having oversight from National Audit Office and the Office for Budget Responsibility would “give markets confidence that there are rules around the investments we can make as a country”. She said that if the UK continued on the “path of decline” set out by the Tories, it would “miss out on other opportunities, and other countries would seize them”. Shadow chancellor Mr Hunt said: “The consistent advice I received from Treasury officials was always that increasing borrowing meant interest rates would be higher for longer – and punish families with mortgages. “What’s even more remarkable is that the Chancellor hasn’t seen fit to announce this major change to the fiscal rules to Parliament. “The markets are watching.” The prospect of tens of billions in extra state borrowing sent gilt yields up by as much as eight basis points on Thursday. It is thought this could see the Bank of England rein in cuts to interest rates, impacting UK gilts by sending prices lower, which conversely causes its yield to rise. Gilts were also said to be under pressure after Bank governor Andrew Bailey said on Wednesday that there were still questions over whether elements of inflation may remain stubborn in the economy. Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said: “The Chancellor must invest any extra borrowing wisely and that should start by fixing the previous Conservative government’s legacy of crumbling hospitals and GP practices that plague our communities.” Ms Reeves’s confirmation that taxes will rise to meet her day-to-day spending needs came as Sir Keir Starmer insisted there was no reason for entrepreneurs to quit the UK. With speculation the Government could raise capital gains tax, putting off business start-ups and foreign investors alike, Sir Keir played down concerns about the Budget’s impact. Asked if he thinks entrepreneurs may want to leave the UK following the reported tax increases, Sir Keir told reporters: “There is no reason for them to.” Published: 24/10/2024 by Radio NewsHub

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Big Issue celebrates change makers who have made an impact

The Big Issue has named people or groups they believe are responsible for innovative change.

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World on track for catastrophic 31C of global warming this century UN warns

Reeves confirms change to debt rule and warns of higher taxes as Budget looms

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