Gordon Brown: World ‘sleepwalking’ to another financial crisis September 13, 2018 The world is “sleepwalking” into another financial crisis, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown said today, but said it lacks the international will to quickly recover. Read more: A decade on, hubris is the lesson to learn from the Lehman tragedy Brown issued the warning in the week marking the 10th anniversary of the collapse of [...]
Fossil Fuel divestment: The feel-good climate change policy that would undermine public pension funds September 2, 2015 Most would agree that climate change could pose a threat to the economy. However, measures to combat it will ultimately prove counter-productive if they conflict with the interests of the taxpayer. Forcing government to pursue losses from taxpayer-funded investments in the name of environmentalism, for example, would be an obvious misuse of public [...]
It’s the right climate to scrap the Department of Energy and Climate Change August 26, 2015 The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is small compared to other government departments, with a gross annual expenditure of just £5.7bn. However, as the government grapples with how to continue to drive down its deficit, abolishing this arm of the state should be a key priority: it would both provide vital savings [...]
COP21 talks: Why action on climate change has become an economic imperative August 20, 2015 In just 100 days, world leaders will gather in Paris for the COP21 climate change talks. The urgent need for action to reduce CO2 emissions and stop global warming was recently described by both Barack Obama and Pope Francis as a “moral imperative” and summed up by President Obama who said: “We are the first [...]
US power sector hits back at Barack Obama’s tough climate change rules August 3, 2015 President Barack Obama is set to present the US’ most ambitious climate change plans to date, but they come fiercely opposed by both his political rivals and the energy sector. The Obama administration will reveal state-specific details of the initiative, called the clean power plan, on Monday, but overall it will impose reductions of carbon [...]
US corporations including Apple and Google pledge billions to help Obama administration combat climate change ahead of Paris summit July 28, 2015 US corporations are pledging billions of dollars to green finance, as the private sector supports the Obama administration in securing a strong global deal on combating climate change. Thirteen top US companies, including Apple, Walmart and Google, teamed up with the White House to launch the American Business Act on Climate Pledge. The campaign is [...]
Heathrow facing flight delays as climate change activists block runway July 13, 2015 Passengers flying from Heathrow Airport today could face delays after climate change activists broke into the airport perimeter in the early hours of this morning, and are currently staging a protest on a runway. "Due to protest activity at the airport, there may be delays and cancellations and you are advised to check your flight status below [...]
Good news: Tackling climate change is possible without hindering economic growth July 7, 2015 Unusually, this is a good news story about climate change. Rapidly falling costs for renewable energy mean that clean economic growth may now be “within our reach”, a new report shows. So what does this mean? Stopping global warming and creating a sustainable future may be possible – without hindering economic growth. Up to 96 [...]
Prime Minister’s Questions: George Osborne discusses radicalisation, climate change and employment June 17, 2015 George Osborne has made his debut on centre stage at Prime Minister's Questions, as Parliament discussed radicalisation, climate change and today's employment figures. The Chancellor was standing in for the Prime Minister, who is continuing his tour of Europe to meet EU leaders, while Labour's Hilary Benn was asking questions. Benn, the shadow foreign secretary, [...]
BP appeases green groups at 2015 AGM: Investors put climate change on the agenda April 16, 2015 Oil firm BP gave shareholders a taste of how committed the company is to keeping costs to a minimum in the face of falling oil prices at its annual general meeting, held yesterday in London, after it laid on a feast of sandwiches and crisps instead of the usual hot food. When one shareholder asked [...]