> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.birminghameastside.co.uk/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Government efforts branded "half-hearted" as scale of environmental spending revealed
- URL: https://www.birminghameastside.co.uk/government-efforts-branded-half-hearted-as-scale-of-environmental-spending-revealed/
- Published: 2023-01-26T12:36:16.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-14T09:58:56.000Z
- Author: Liam Edwards
- Tags: Data, Environment, News, Politics, #Migrated-1786701253228, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-14 09:54

An academic has called the Government's attitude to climate change "half-hearted" after an analysis of official data by Birmingham Eastside revealed only 1% of public spending went on environmental protection in the UK last year.

**Claudia Carter**, an environmental specialist and lecturer at Birmingham City University, said:

“It’s disappointing to see their lack of effort in actually following through on targets and environmental policies.

“With the current political trends and leadership, I feel we are way off target to be able to facilitate a timely transition to support the world.

“This could potentially be disastrous for the public for now and in the future.”

[Public spending data from the Treasury ](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/public-spending-statistics-release-november-2022?ref=birminghameastside.co.uk)showed that 13.6 billion pounds was spent by the government on ecological issues — less than one-twentieth of the money spent on social protection, the largest category.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/63/9b/639bf577-7ed7-44fe-8d64-ac66eaeee42e/content/images/2026/08/image-76.png)

[https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/7dyqB/1/](https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/7dyqB/1/?ref=birminghameastside.co.uk)

Miss Carter said the figures should "sharpen minds":

“Rather than being pessimistic, we need to adopt more frugal ways of conducting our lives. Responsibility and action need to be evident across all sectors and levels. Everyone can — and needs to — contribute.”

The Government were approached for a comment on this story but did not respond.