risk – Page 6 – Tom Burke

Energy Transition Commission – some considerations

On September 29, 2015September 29, 2015 By admin

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 […]

SOMETHING IS HAPPENING HERE

On August 17, 2015August 17, 2015 By admin

This piece first appeared in Business Green. Environmentalists have long been vulnerable to their own passions. At times this can make us sound shrill and self-righteous. On other occasions it can blind us to political traps. The oil industry is now busy setting a big one […]

REMARKS ON CLIMATE AND SECURITY AT THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL – WASHINGTON DC – JUNE 17TH 2015

On June 19, 2015June 23, 2015 By admin

This is the address I gave at the Atlantic Council event Climate Security: The Next ‘Battle Ground’? on June 17, 2015 in Washington DC. Security professionals often distinguish between human security issues and national security issues. Of course […]

CLIMATE: National security concerns could spur Hill action — ex-DOD officials?

On June 18, 2015June 22, 2015 By admin

This is a report by Environment & Energy Publishing of the panel I spoke on at the Atlantic Council event Climate Security: The Next ‘Battle Ground’? on June 17, 2015 in Washington DC The reporter misheard what I said about America. What I actually said was: ‘Winston Churchill, who had an American mother, once […]

Climate Security: The Next ‘Battle Ground’? – Atlantic Council event – June 17, 2015

On June 10, 2015 By admin

I will be speaking at the Atlantic Council event Climate Security: The Next ‘Battle Ground’? on June 17, 2015 in Washington DC. As the international community heads to COP21 in Paris this December, much of the public discourse focuses on the relationship between climate and the environment. […]

SOMETHING UNDERSTOOD

On June 1, 2015June 4, 2015 By admin

This article first appeared in BusinessGreen The politics of climate change is changing. Astonished listeners at a recent conference in Paris heard the Saudi oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, announce ‘one of these days we are not going to need fossil fuels’. He went on to make […]

SQUARING THE CIRCLES

On May 20, 2015 By admin

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. […]

CHANGING THE GAME – A PROGRAMME FOR GOVERNMENT

On May 6, 2015May 7, 2015 By admin

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 […]

CLIMATE CHANGE : WHO TO CHOOSE?

On May 4, 2015 By admin

This piece was originally published by Greenpeace EnergyDesk The next government will decide four critical matters that will determine the role it plays in the global effort to keep the climate safe. First, it will choose how to spend £25 billion a year on vital infrastructure. […]

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

On April 9, 2015April 14, 2015 By admin

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 […]