Asad Rehman, the Chief Executive of the environmental charity Friends of the Earth, has said that “Palestine is and has always been a climate justice issue.”

Speaking at a fringe event at the Green conference in Brighton on Saturday afternoon, Rehman claimed that understanding climate change is an “anti-colonial project” and that questions around climate justice “are the same ones facing the Palestinian people”. He also suggested that Palestine was an example of “fossil fuel colonialism because resources have always been central to the colonial project.”

Rehman has been chief executive of Friends of the Earth since August 2025, and previously served on the boards of charities such as Thousand Currents and the Rainforest Action Network. In 2023, while he was the director of climate campaign group War on Want, he claimed that “the Palestinian struggle is woven into every struggle for justice including climate justice.”

He has long connected climate issues with other social justice campaigns. When his appointment to Friends of the Earth was announced, he wrote on the charity’s website that “we must show that the fight for climate and nature is inseparable from achieving true social and economic justice.” He also wrote that “environmental breakdown” is keeping many people in poverty.

The comments come as the Green Party faces scrutiny for its position on Israel and Palestine. On Saturday, it was reported that Green Party leader Zack Polanski had said that Israel had run “false flag” attacks in an episode of his podcast Bold Politics. Polanski has faced similar backlash in recent weeks for suggesting that Jewish people are to blame for rising racism in Britain. Today, the Green Party will vote on a “Zionism is Racism” motion that would become party policy if passed. The motion has been criticised by senior figures in the party, such as MP Caroline Lucas, who has claimed it is “divisive” and that it could be a sign that Jewish people aren’t welcome in the party.

On Friday, UnHerd reported that a senior Green Party official had advised campaigners to “dress modestly” to appeal to Muslim voters at a party conference event. Asma Alam, the party’s executive campaign coordinator, also suggested that campaigners should wear a keffiyeh and greet Muslim voters with “as-salamu alaykum”. She went on to claim that the Green Party’s position on Israel was important to mention to prospective voters to gain support for the party.