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Homelessness property funds help 3,367 people and save UK government more than £300mn
A new social housing model could save the UK government up to £1bn in costs, according to new research. Homelessness property funds attract capital from institutional investors to buy properties, refurbish them, and lease them to homelessness charities and housing associations.
A study commissioned by UK impact investor Big Society Capital found that fund manager Resonance’s five such funds have helped 3,367 people in the last decade, including 1,607 children.
The funds have raised more than £297mn since 2013, helping clients move out of overcrowded temporary accommodation, saving an estimated £312mn in accommodation costs, plus £143mn in associated healthcare and criminal justice costs. According to BBC calculations, a public grant of £100mn now could ultimately save the government over £1bn and house more than 23,000 people.
Major companies fall short of 2015 Paris climate goals
Before COP26, hundreds of companies made a public commitment to net-zero goals in line with the Paris Agreement. These have since been tracked by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Following mass revisions at the end of 2023, more than 500 companies – including Microsoft and JBS – have had their approval removed by SBTi, and 230 failed to submit any targets at all. According to the Financial Times, companies have complained that the SBTi is “too abstract” as a standard for setting net zero targets. The trend seems to be affecting companies outside of SBTi too: just last week, Shell announced it was abandoning a plan to cut its emissions by 45% by 2030, though it maintains it will be net zero by 2050.
UK emissions drop to lowest level since 1879 thanks to falling demand for fossil fuels
British greenhouse gas emissions dropped by 5.7% in 2023 – the lowest level since the Victorian era – according to new research from Carbon Brief. Since 1990, emissions are said to have fallen by 53%, while GDP has grown by 82%. Coal use fell starkly to the lowest level since the 1730s: the result of the closure of all but one of the UK’s coal-fired power plants. The largest contributor to the sharp emissions drop was declining demand for gas, which fell by 11% last year due to rising temperatures and price hikes resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While it should be noted that the analysis does not include emissions associated with imported goods and the UK’s share of international aviation and shipping, Carbon Brief argues that the research is evidence of “decoupling” economic growth from emissions.
Biden administration gives $120mn to tribal nations to fight climate change
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