Published on SustainAbility, on 2nd February 2008 This is a great theme that is massively under discussed. At its highest level we are challenged by a democratic dilemma. To tackle the suite of issues surrounding a transition to sustainable development we must agree and adopt public policies governing many aspects […]
Too chic to meter? France’s relationship with nuclear power
Overthrow of New King Coal
Published in The Guardian, on 16th January 2008. The energy analyst: It may have been a tough decision to take, but the government has got it badly wrong The government’s case for reviving a moribund nuclear industry turns significantly on nuclear’s role in avoiding dangerous climate change – the most […]
The world and climate change: all together now
Published in openDemocracy, 7th December 2007. A version of this article is also being published by the International Institute of Environment and Development (IIED) The “global” problem of climate change is endlessly discussed, but rarely looked at in a cold light. The crux of the matter is that all of […]
On hanging together
Carbon markets are not the answer
Published in the Liberal Democrat Autumn 2007 Federal Conference Agenda and Directory, 15th- 20th September 2007. We face a shared dilemma. All of us need to secure reliable access to energy for our economies to grow. Without that growth we cannot maintain social cohesion and political stability. For China, India […]
accidents and achievements: the Conservative environmental record
Published in Green Alliance publication A greener shade of blue? Reflections on new Conservative approaches to the environment. Published on 17th May 2007. Finding myself working for a Conservative government was one of the more unexpected turns in the thirty five years I have spent as an environmentalist. This was […]
The Climate Bill bear trap waiting for Brown
Climate change: choosing the tools
by Tom Burke. Published on openDemocracy, on 21st December 2006. The right mix of political, technological and economic instruments is essential if the challenge of irreversible climate-change is to be met, says Tom Burke. Since the publication of the Stern report on the economics of climate change on 30 October 2006, […]
Climate change: time to get real
by Tom Burke. Published on openDemocracy, on 25th September 2006. The public argument on climate change has been transformed by a series of recent interventions by scientists. First, James E Hansen, the global doyen of climate scientists, announced that the world has only ten years in which to take decisive action […]