From childhood experiences of racial harassment in Burnley to leading the UK’s largest environmental organisation, Asad Rehman championed a movement that unites climate action with social justice, signalling a transformative shift in environmental campaigning.
Each weekday morning in 1970s Burnley, a group of South Asian children would walk to school together for safety. Among them was Asad Rehman, who had moved from Pakistan at age four. The children faced daily racial harassment, including Nazi salutes and racist insults from classmates, and even the distribution of far-right literature within school halls. The hostile environment forced them to band together, barricading themselves in classrooms at lunchtime to avoid attacks. This early experience of racialised violence sparked Rehman’s first involvement in organising when he and his peers collectively refused to attend school in protest, insisting their environment was unsafe. These formative moments ingrained a core belief in Rehman: strength lies in collective action and organisation, with a unifying vision.
Rehman’s commitment to justice would define his career trajectory. After university, he joined grassroots anti-racism groups in East London such as the Newham Monitoring Project, which was engaged in community casework and campaigning against far-right violence. He later worked with Amnesty International UK where he championed economic and social rights alongside civil and political rights—an expansion that reflected his broader social justice outlook. By the late 1990s, his activism intersected with the burgeoning counter-globalisation movement, exposing him to international voices warning of climate breakdown and its impacts, including displacement and agricultural crises. This realisation that climate change would unravel hard-won social gains drove him to integrate environmental and social justice causes.
In 2006, Rehman joined Friends of the Earth, at a time when most environmental organisations viewed climate change as a distant threat. Friends of the Earth was pioneering a climate justice framework that linked environmental degradation directly with racism and inequality—an approach Rehman championed globally, elevating voices from the Global South. Despite pushback from political figures uncomfortable with his uncompromising stance, he persisted in framing environmental struggle as inseparable from human rights and anti-racism efforts. This intersectional narrative has since become central to progressive environmentalism.
Rehman’s leadership roles continued at War on Want, a trade union-backed anti-poverty campaign where he broadened the coalition of social justice and environmental activists. In August 2025, he returned to Friends of the Earth as its first person of colour to lead the organisation in its over 50-year history. With a membership exceeding 250,000 and more than 230 local action groups, Friends of the Earth is the UK’s largest environmental campaigning network. Historically viewed as less radical than some peers, Rehman’s appointment signals a renewed commitment to activism that tackles climate change, systemic inequality, and the far right in tandem.
Rehman emphasises mobilisation and community organising as central to his vision. Building on Friends of the Earth’s extensive grassroots base, he aims to create a movement that not only addresses ecological issues but also confronts the divisions sowed by economic disparities and racial injustice. He reflects: “We’re being offered nothing but division and hatred. We have to provide an answer for them. Friends of the Earth is going to be in the forefront of that.” His approach reflects the organisation’s longstanding commitment to environmental justice, explicitly recognising how marginalised communities bear the brunt of ecological harm and systemic oppression.
This broad, justice-centered philosophy aligns with campaigns addressing the displacement of climate refugees, highlighted in coalition efforts like the 2017 Climate Refugees conference, which Rehman helped shape. There, he called for a new narrative rooted in empathy and collective responsibility to tackle the growing crisis affecting over 140 million displaced people worldwide due to climate-related disasters.
Friends of the Earth’s renewed drive under Rehman comes at a time when political landscapes are shifting leftward, as seen in the recent leadership of the Green Party by Zack Polanski, who praised Rehman as “a keen voice in the climate movement” adept at linking economic and climate justice globally. While some colleagues note Rehman’s strengths lie more in high-level campaigning than grassroots organising, his ability to unite diverse social and environmental justice causes is widely recognised as vital for the movement’s future.
Rehman’s journey from a child navigating racial violence in Burnley to the helm of the UK’s largest environmental campaigning network embodies the evolution of climate activism itself—one that understands the climate crisis as inseparable from systemic injustice. His leadership signals a future where environmentalism and social equity are pursued hand in hand, seeking transformative solutions to the intertwined challenges facing communities in the UK and worldwide.
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Source: Noah Wire Services
Noah Fact Check Pro
The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.
Freshness check
Score:
10
Notes:
The narrative is fresh, with no evidence of prior publication or recycled content. The earliest known publication date is October 3, 2025. The report is based on a recent press release from Friends of the Earth, which typically warrants a high freshness score. No discrepancies in figures, dates, or quotes were found. The narrative includes updated data and new material, justifying a higher freshness score.
Quotes check
Score:
10
Notes:
The direct quotes attributed to Asad Rehman are unique to this report, with no identical matches found in earlier material. This suggests potentially original or exclusive content.
Source reliability
Score:
10
Notes:
The narrative originates from The Guardian, a reputable organisation known for its journalistic standards. This enhances the credibility of the report.
Plausability check
Score:
10
Notes:
The claims made in the narrative are plausible and align with known information about Asad Rehman and Friends of the Earth. The narrative is consistent with the region and topic, with no inconsistencies in language or tone. The structure is focused and relevant, without excessive or off-topic detail. The tone is appropriate for a journalistic piece, resembling typical corporate or official language.
Overall assessment
Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS
Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): HIGH
Summary:
The narrative is fresh, original, and sourced from a reputable organisation. The claims are plausible and well-supported, with no signs of disinformation or recycled content.
