If you have been watching the leaders’ debates and the announcements from the political parties, you may be wondering what’s happened to climate change. A recent poll showed that two thirds of people in Scotland think that climate change should be a …
The Supreme Court ruling and political commitments on oil
Last week the UK Supreme Court ruled that the process to approve an oil and gas field in Surrey should have taken into account the impact of burning oil and gas produced. This is a huge victory for the local campaigners who …
Scotland’s climate targets dilemma
The Scottish Government has to produce a new plan on meeting climate targets by November, but their scientific advisers have told them that Scotland’s 2030 target is now almost impossible to meet. Scotland’s 2019 Climate Act set three targets. By 2030 we were supposed …
Never mind the climate crisis
Labour’s botched retreat from their commitments to a massive investment in reducing climate emissions looks doubly bad given its timing. First, in 2021 there was the pledge to invest £28 billion a year in measures to combat climate change. Then, …
Granting new oil and gas licences is insane
Despite the International Energy Agency saying in 2021 that no country should be granting new oil and gas licences, despite the UN Secretary-General saying that investing in new fossil fuel infrastructure is “moral and economic madness” and despite December’s climate …
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 …
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 …
Big oil and the energy transition
UN Secretary General António Guterres has stepped up his challenge to the oil companies to stop blocking action on climate change, accusing them of trying to “knee-cap” climate progress. Earlier this year, Mr Guterres used the launch of the latest …
Climate in court. Again
Legal action on climate change is stepping up a gear, with those in charge of oil companies now in the firing line. Three years ago, in one of my more feisty columns, I said top oil industry people should be …
Funding climate action
We are facing four crisis – climate and nature emergencies, the cost of living crisis and a global poverty crisis. A new report looks at how we can raise the money and drive the behaviour change needed to reduce emissions at …
Financing climate justice
A new report I researched and wrote for Stop Climate Chaos Scotland on fiscal measure for climate action is covered in today’s Sunday Post. It looks at how we fund climate action at home and how we make our fair …
UK and Scottish energy strategies on collision course
The UK Government’s new energy strategy makes no sense at all and puts Westminster on collision course with Holyrood. In early March Boris Johnson said he would produce, as a matter of urgency, a plan to respond to the twin …