Things are getting back to normal in Expo City Dubai, now that the 85,000 delegates for COP28 have headed back home after nearly two weeks of difficult negotiations. The talks ran over by about 24 hours and reactions to the …
COP28 and oil
As I write this COP28, this year’s UN climate talks in Dubai, are looking likely to fail, for the first time since COP6 in 2000. Tuesday morning’s deadline has passed, an improved draft agreement is due and there will clearly …
Tobacco style attacks on heat pumps
Transforming the heating of our homes and other buildings is essential to reduce climate emissions and protect people from the volatile costs of fossil fuels. But anti-climate forces and vested interests are using tactics straight out of the tobacco industry …
Grangemouth closure should have been no surprise
The announcement last week that Grangemouth refinery is to close should not have been a surprise to anyone, it is the inevitable consequence of taking climate change seriously. This makes the apparent lack of preparation for this event doubly surprising. The refinery …
Plastics’ use under pressure
Pressure is growing to reduce our use of plastics, internationally and at home. Our massive use of plastic globally keeps us hooked on fossil fuels and continues to create widespread contamination of the environment by long-lived compounds. WWF estimate that the cost to …
Making Ecocide a crime in Scotland
Last week Labour/Co-operative Party MSP for Central Scotland Monica Lennon launched proposals for a bill to make ecocide a crime in Scotland, to act as a major deterrent to those who might create severe damage to the environment. Ecocide is defined as “unlawful or …
Oil industry wins again
The news that the UK government proposes to accept annual applications for new oil and gas projects rather than on the current multi-year cycle, shows the power of the oil industry. The Labour Party, expecting to be the next government, has said …
Good ideas on climate change needed more than ever
The world is in a climate crisis. Never has there been a greater need for good ideas to reduce emissions here and at home. I was lucky enough to be involved in the creation of a Climate Manifesto for Stop Climate Chaos …
Energy trends give hope on climate
Green energy is progressing in leaps and bounds around the world but the UK Government is still backing the wrong horses. New figures from the International Energy Agency show that almost all the global electricity installed in the next three years …
Insuring against climate change
The insurance industry is increasingly vulnerable to climate change as ‘natural’ disasters become more and more frequent, and payouts spiral upwards. This month’s floods in Scotland will see home and business owners making claims on their insurance and insurers looking …
Climate change accelerates, Tories retreat
The heavy flooding over the weekend graphically reminds us that Scotland is already feeling the extreme impacts of climate change. Farmers say millions of pounds worth of damage has been done to crops and the insurance bill for flooded homes and businesses …
Rosebank – racing towards climate chaos
Following Rishi Sunak’s disastrous leap backwards on climate policies, the UK government has decided to give the go-ahead to the controversial Rosebank oilfield development, to much international and domestic condemnation. In 2021 the International Energy Agency, not known for its …