The new boss of a major British environmental group said membership has become too white and middle class.
Asad Rehman, who became the first person of colour to lead Friends of the Earth this week, said more needed to be done as he pledged to develop a diverse movement.
Analysis by the Race Report campaign last year found environmental and conservation groups were among the least diverse across the UK.
Just 4.5 per cent of their staff were non-white, compared with 16 per cent within the working population as a whole.
When asked about the statement on diversity, Mr Rehman said: ‘It has been a fair critique, absolutely.
‘If we want to be a force for change, you have to look like and be part of the fabric of this country – and that is diverse and it’s diverse in class, it’s diverse in ethnicity, diverse geographically.’
The chief executive was previously at the anti-poverty group War on Want. He said the possibility of a future Reform government, and the rise of the far right, ‘keeps me awake at night’.
He told The Times: ‘We are heading towards, I think, a divisive, racist, dystopian future. Or we have a future which is prosperous, united, more coherent, cohesive, strong, community diverse. That’s the one I’m fighting for.’
Nigel Farage recently branded fracking for natural gas ‘vital’, and vowed to lift a moratorium on the extraction method.
The controversial technique was imposed after small earthquakes in Lancashire in both 2018 and 2019.
Mr Rehman said the Reform UK leader was in for ‘a shock’ at the backlash from rural working-class voters, if he were to run for election on a pro-fracking promise.
He added that Friends of the Earth would argue an expansion of renewable energy, as well as increasing the energy efficiency of properties, are the best ways to reduce the cost of energy bills.
Friends of the Earth is a top international environmental organisation with a network of member groups and local activist groups around the world.
It homes in on environmental issues and promotes solutions for a sustainable future through campaigns and legal action.
Friends of the Earth is well known for its work on climate justice, protecting nature, and advocating for environmental and social justice.
The Daily Mail has contacted Reform UK for comment.