COP21: Paris climate deal ‘more likely’ after terror attacks

  By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, BBC News, Paris       Nearly 150 global leaders are gathering in Paris amid tight security for a critical UN climate meeting. The conference, known as COP21, starts on Monday and will try to craft a long-term deal to limit carbon emissions. Observers […]

Blue Sky Thinking – BBC Radio 5 Live

          I think that government has got far too centralised, it started under Thatcher, was taken further forward by Labour, and the level of centralisation has now really got quite ridiculous. I would want to push a lot more power and authority, certainly over finance, out […]

Revealed: BP’s close ties with the UK government – The Guardian

  I was quoted extensively in a piece The Guardian wrote on the extent of BP’s influence on government policy and how their intimate relationship is at odds with UK commitments to reduce carbon emissions.     “About 1.5% of UK pension industry money was invested in BP shares, which […]

SQUARING THE CIRCLES

  This piece was first published by the Energy and Carbon Blog     Amber Rudd’s appointment as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate has been welcomed by environmentalists. This is partly out of relief. There was a real risk that DECC would be abolished by an incoming Conservative Government. […]

US and China emissions agreement – BBC World Service – 12 November 2014

                  Here is an interview I did recently for  the BBC World Service discussing why the emissions agreement between the US and China is so important.   “This is really important because the real problem with climate change is not so much technology […]

If there is the will, there is a way – Sky News – 02 November 14

        Here is an interview I did for Sky News discussing the draft IPCC ‘synthesis’ report, why this report is different, and what difference it could make.   “I think there are two things that are different about this report, first of all this report is not just […]

‘IT’S THE ECONOMY STUPID’

                    When the debate on the Fourth Carbon Budget began in Whitehall in 2012 the Treasury had a clear view. No. Meeting its requirements would be too damaging to Britain’s economy. How did they know this? Their model of the economy […]

NO-ONE HOME

  This piece first appeared in BusinessGreen     There is no-one at home in Britain’s political parties. Increasingly they are empty shells with ever fewer members. On a good day less than 400,000 people belong to all our political parties combined. That is about 0.5% per cent of the […]

THE POWER OF DREAMS

    This piece first appeared in The Guardian on Thursday 10th July                 It has always been difficult to see what was attractive about the proposed deal with EDF to build a nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point in Somerset. To bring this […]

SPEAKING WITH A FORKED TONGUE

  This article first appeared in Business Green   . Last month, under pressure from activist investors, Exxon issued a report to their shareholders on climate change. To no-one’s surprise they found that “none of our hydrocarbon assets are now or will become ‘stranded’”. Some saw this as an important […]