Media centre
If you are a journalist and would like a comment, interview and/or briefing, please contact Beth Herzfeld, IIED's head of media.
This section of our site is designed for members of the media. You can find our latest press releases, contact details and information about our spokespeople.
IIED experts are available for interviews and background briefings on a wide range of environmental and development issues, from climate change and climate finance to China and development, the economics of development, urban issues and resilient cities, and the illegal wildlife trade. See a full list of our areas of work.
For non-media enquiries, please go to our contact us page, and for general news go to our news and comment section.
Latest press releases
15 December 2019
On the conclusion of the UN climate talks in Madrid, Spain, Andrew Norton, director of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), said: “Determination to rise to the challenge we all face has averted a near victory for the polluters. But the days of accepting compromise as progress is 20 years out of date, and the vulnerable countries held firm.
13 December 2019
As the UN climate talks head towards their conclusion in Madrid, Spain, IIED director Andrew Norton said: "The fate of the Paris Agreement is in the balance.
5 December 2019
IIED is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Tara Shine as its new chair
2 December 2019
At the start of the UN climate talks (COP25) in Madrid, Spain, IIED director Andrew Norton said: "The alarming rise in global devastation from climate change demands governments agree urgent action in Madrid. Decisions need to put the world on course to no more than a 1.5°C temperature rise above pre-industrial levels. We cannot afford to go higher.
1 November 2019
In response to the news that the UN climate negotiations (COP25) will take place in Madrid, Spain, from 2-13 December 2019, rather than Santiago, Chile, IIED climate change director Clare Shakya says: “With time running out to prevent catastrophic climate breakdown, it is imperative that the international climate talks do not lose momentum.
25 September 2019
In response to the UN Climate Action Summit, IIED director Andrew Norton said: “The summit did not go far enough. The science is clear – we cannot exceed a 1.5°C temperature rise. It is time to ditch the 2°C target.
25 September 2019
In response to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC), IIED director Andrew Norton said: “This report’s findings are staggering. The rate and magnitude of change to the ocean, glaciers and ice sheets are happening much faster than previously predicted. The climate emergency must be met with equally accelerated action.
Media mentions
At the UK-Africa Summit, Boris Johnson announced the UK government would stop investing in coal overseas. In response, IIED Andrew Norton said the move 'is long overdue and a welcome step in the right direction ― but it needs to go further'.
The WTO today resumes talks on fishing subsidies. This has significant implications for life in the ocean, the health and livelihoods of poor coastal communities in developing countries and climate change, says Annabelle Bladon, IIED researcher on the blue economy.
In Kenya, participatory mapping makes it possible for indigenous knowledge to be included in planning and policy where for too long it was excluded, showing technology can bring people’s voices to power.
As the UN climate talks ended, IIED Director Andrew Norton said: “paralysing delays, bargaining and denial by just a few countries are forcing millions of women, children and men to battle the floods, drought, rising waters and forest fires with limited support or flee in search of safer ground. They and the rest of the world look to leaders for honest commitments of real action and solutions ― not betrayal and insult”.
As the UN climate talks in Madrid go down to the wire, IIED Director Andrew Norton says "The fate of the Paris Agreement is in the balance."