By Amy Goodman, Nermeen Shaikh, George Monbiot, Democracy Now!
On Wednesday, the House of Commons became the first parliament in the world to declare a climate emergency. The resolution came on the heels of the recent Extinction Rebellion mass uprising that shut down Central London last month in a series of direct actions.
By Gavin Barker, Open Democracy
We face a stark choice between endless austerity, the removal of rights, accelerating inequality, deepening environmental chaos and ever greater power to the few. Or ‘we the people’ seize the opportunity to re-write the rules by which we are governed and ensure that these place the ‘rights of nature’ at its very heart.
By Rebecca Willis, The Conversation
What the UK now needs is an open, positive political debate about how to meet its carbon targets, in place of the quiet ambiguity that has characterised the past decade.
By Kevin Anderson, Kevin Anderson blog
Behind the polished smiles & fraudulent oratory the Minister of Energy and Clean Growth, and her Welsh and Scottish counterparts, dispense with the Committee on Climate Change and embrace a Trumpian view of science.
By Rob Macquarie, Postive Money
In our report released today A Green Bank of England, we propose several policies and political reforms that would hardwire the Bank of England for climate sustainability.
By Naomi Kreitman, Lise Masson, New Internationalist
Each year at the UN climate negotiations, we UK youth bring our determination for climate justice to the discussion. We don’t come to the talks with high expectations. But this year the UK has gone above and beyond to surprise us with their lack of leadership. From advertising Barclays at their UN pavilion, to dismissing questions on crucial climate related policies such as fracking, or advocating for fossil fuel companies to be involved in the negotiations, they didn’t miss an opportunity to disappoint.
By Joel Stronberg, Civil Notion
His erasing the nation’s signature from the Paris Accord was nothing more than pandering to his core supporters on the back of an issue The Donald considers inconsequential to his legacy. It was intended to offset growing criticism of his performance to-date.
By Simon Evans, Carbon Brief
The future UK electricity mix will have more renewables, batteries and interconnectors than expected, according to long-awaited new government projections. The shift in Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) modelling, which includes a marked reduction in new gas capacity, parallels similar changes made by National Grid.
By Simon Evans, Carbon Brief
Carbon Brief analysis shows the UK’s CO2 emissions fell by 5.8% in 2016, after a record 52% drop in coal use. The reduction would leave UK CO2 emissions some 36% below 1990 levels. The huge fall in CO2 from coal use in 2016 was partially offset by increased emissions from oil (up 1.6%) and gas (up 12.5%).
By Joel Stronberg, Civil Notion
A bi-lateral partnership with the UK could certainly result in economic benefits for both. More than that, collaboration could offer important secondary (political) benefits.