DEMOCRACY, LAW AND THE ENVIRONMENT – UKELA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2021

This is a speech I gave at the UKELA annual conference 2021. In summary, I argue that the rule of law will not long survive a failure to maintain the ecological foundations of the economy. The climate is the foundation in the most imminent danger. The ecological foundations of the […]

LONDON CLIMATE ACTION WEEK

The Mayor of London and Greater London Authority will hold the first-ever London Climate Action Week (LCAW) from 1-8 July 2019. The week aims to highlight London’s unique role as the leading international hub for organisations working globally to tackle climate change. LCAW will also mobilise London-based organisations and local […]

Is the UK emissions target for 2050 achievable? – BBC World News

. . Climate change is a bit like diabetes, it’s a progressive disease. The earlier you do something about it, the better your chances are. I think that if we are still burning a lot of fossil fuels after 2050, then we are in very serious trouble. The prosperity and […]

Politicians Declared a Climate Emergency – Here’s What They’re Really Doing

. Parliament declared a climate change crisis in May, but experts worry that it’s just PR-friendly sloganeering. . By Simon Roach | 11 June 2019, 12:14pm . Take the example of the SNP leader of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon. Speaking at her party’s conference in April, the first minister told the […]

Remarks By Tom Burke at The Prospect Trade Union Energy Summit

. Remarks by Tom Burke at The Prospect Energy Summit, Birdcage Walk, London On April 4th 2019. . Thank you for inviting me to contribute to this panel. As has already become clear, and will become even more so, climate change is one of the most serious threats to the […]

Financing Decarbonisation of the Global Energy System

Energy and Systemic Risk There will soon be eight billion of us sharing this planet. All of us looking to live prosperous and secure lives in which to enjoy the extraordinary benefits that knowledge and technology are already making possible and could do so even more in the future. We […]

BBC Radio 5 Live – Government announces independent review of energy prices – 6 Aug 17

    5 Live: The government has launched an independent review into the cost of energy, days after British Gas raised energy prices by twelve and a half percent. The study is being carried out by Oxford University professor Dieter Helm, and will look at how to meet climate change […]

SOMETHING IS HAPPENING HERE

  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 by Tom Burke CBE – All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group (APPCCG) – House Of Commons

      REMARKS BY TOM BURKE CBE AT THE ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY CLIMATE CHANGE GROUP (APPCCG), COMMITTEE ROOM 12, HOUSE OF COMMONS, WEDNESDAY 27TH NOVEMBER 2013.   There are a number of ways in which climate change is unusual among the problems we face. We know exactly what we need […]