ENDS Report – Page 4

Tom Burke’s Political Commentary: The next government faces public revolt over land-use planning

On March 1, 2010April 11, 2012 By admin

Published in the ENDS Report (Issue 422, p42), in March 2010. All elections create uncertainty about the future of public policy – this one more than most. The unpopular leader of a tired party is facing the smooth, sometimes slick and yet to be tested charm of a young pretender. […]

Tom Burke’s Political Commentary: New momentum on climate negotiations is now urgently needed

On January 1, 2010April 11, 2012 By admin

Published in ENDS Report (Issue 420, p49), in January 2010. So what really happened in Copenhagen? And even more importantly, what happens now? Forgive me for troubling you with this topic again, but this was no ordinary meeting. Konrad von Moltke, the founder of the Institute for European Environment Policy, […]

Tom Burke’s Political Commentary: Slouching away from Copenhagen: a terrible beauty was stillborn

On December 1, 2009April 11, 2012 By admin

Published in ENDS Report (Issue 419, p55), in December 2009. They came. They tried. They failed. Not one of the 119 world leaders who attended the Copenhagen summit came intending to shatter a global climate regime so painfully built over 20 years. But that is what they accomplished. Do not […]

Tom Burke’s Political Commentary: Environment profile low at party conferences

On October 1, 2009April 11, 2012 By admin

Published in ENDS Report (Issue 417, p54), in October 2009. Conference speeches by party leaders take on a special significance just before a general election. Their purpose is no longer simply to rally the faithful but to reach over the heads of party members and speak directly to the electorate. […]

Tom Burke’s Political Commentary: It’s time to realise the climate is too big to fail

On August 1, 2009April 11, 2012 By admin

Published in ENDS Report (Issue 415, p48), in August 2009. Climate change poses a systemic risk for humanity, one where a failure causes a cascade of contingent failures which lead to a collapse of a whole system. In this case, that system is the global economy. By analogy with a […]

Tom Burke’s Political Commentary: Labour’s environmental rhetoric fails to convince

On July 1, 2009April 11, 2012 By admin

Published in ENDS Report (Issue 414, p57), in July 2009. The songs of one’s youth stick in the memory. I have long remembered a line from a now forgotten song by the Incredible String Band. It was called The Hedgehog Song. It tells the story of a young man who […]

Tom Burke’s Political Commentary: Nuclear renaissance will fail without public trust

On May 11, 2009April 11, 2012 By admin

Published in ENDS Report (Issue 412, p39), in May 2009. The current political crisis is more than a passing storm in the weather of events that politicians endure daily. To govern successfully in a parliamentary democracy they must possess both legitimacy and authority. The authority stems from the confidence of […]

Tom Burke’s Political Commentary: The case for rethinking green governance

On February 1, 2009April 11, 2012 By admin

Published in ENDS Report (Issue 409, p55), in February 2009. During the second half of the eighties I made frequent trips to the countries on the other side of what used to be called the Iron Curtain. The trips were funded by George Soros. They were part of his vigorous […]

Tom Burke’s Political Commentary: Now’s a good time to sort out green governance

On January 1, 2009April 11, 2012 By admin

Published in ENDS Report (Issue 408, P58), in January 2009. There has been much media speculation over whether – along with jobs, mortgages and over-inflated bonuses – the economic crisis has also killed green. However, there was no sign of this in the outrage over the government’s decision to go […]

Tom Burke’s Political Commentary: When quiet protest turns to rage and judicial review

On December 1, 2008April 11, 2012 By admin

Published in ENDS Report (Issue 407, p61), in December 2008. The scene at Stansted early one morning at the start of this month was depressingly familiar: delayed flights, crowded terminals, angry passengers, harassed staff, frustrated airline executives. Normally BAA accomplishes this all on its own. On this particular morning they […]