OF OIL AND STONES

  This blog first appeared in Business Green                                 Sheikh Yamani, a former Saudi oil minister, is famous for having pointed out that the stone age did not end because we ran out of stones. […]

Energy Transition Commission – some considerations

  Shell and McKinsey have just launched a global initiative called the Energy Transition Commission. Doubts have been raised about whether the Commission as currently constructed has the integrity to make a positive contribution to the debate on how to keep the climate safe. There is a risk that this […]

Pester power: The new weapon in the fight against global warming – The Independent

  I was quoted by The Independent in a piece about how influential young people are in the fight against climate change.     “Young girls have enormous influence on their fathers. In the work I have done I would say that the most influential group of people of all are 12-year-old […]

CHANGING THE GAME – A PROGRAMME FOR GOVERNMENT

  E3G is publishing ‘Changing the Game’ a 10 point programme for government that will put the environment to work for the economy.       For too long Britain’s environmentalists have asked British Governments to do more for the environment. It is now time to turn the tables and tell […]

How to break the political silence on the environment

  This piece was first published in the Guardian       A YouGov poll published last week found that 40% of voters wanted to hear more about the environment. They also wanted to hear more about education, pensions, foreign affairs and Europe. They have been disappointed. It is too […]

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

  This essay argues that the oil industry will lose the battle for the future. The growth it expects will not occur. The key issue is whether the world makes an orderly or disorderly transition to a carbon neutral energy system. An orderly transition preserves both the economy and the […]

THE FRAGILE CITY AND THE RISK NEXUS

                          This is a new short book I have written with leading urbanist Charles Landry. It brings together for the first time two disconnected narratives. The first is about the future of the cities in which half the […]

THE FUTURE IS COMING READY OR NOT

  The following speech talks about the looming collision between $6 trillion of investment in oil and gas over the next ten years and the agreement by governments to keep the rise in global temperature below 2°C. This collision will transform the human prospect. It poses a dilemma for governments […]

Why Europe matters and why the European elections matter – E3G