The world faces an urgent climate crisis. There is no time to lose. However, the UK general election has produced no winner and, at the time of writing, it is still not clear who will form the next government.
read more »My thoughts on this vigil, terrorism, the EU and the Paris climate summit.
read more »If Britain votes to stay in the EU, we should then take the lead in strengthening EU climate and energy policy. This would deliver a society in which Europeans would be healthier, happier and richer.
read more »The fact that an agreement was reached is excellent. The agreement, signed up to by rich, poor and middle income countries alike, was indeed historic. But the agreement is only a set of political promises, and politicians have been known not to keep their promises. Attention must now shift to implementation: to policies and to money.
read more »The Energy Union, which the Juncker Commission had identified as one of its top priorities, is an area in which the UK should take a lead.
read more »The air in London is cleaner than it was in the 1950s, the era of infamous smogs. But it is still not clean enough. Every year over nine thousand Londoners are killed by air pollution, primarily from road transport (see http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/nearly-9500-people-die-early-in-a-single-year-in-london-as-a-result-of-air-pollution-study-finds-10390729.html) . British politicians of all parties have failed to tackle this problem adequately, for […]
read more »Key quotes from, and a few of my comments on, the excellent Lancet Commission report
read more »In less than two weeks’ time, the UK will vote on whether to stay in or leave the EU. I am doing all I can for the Stronger In campaign (http://www.strongerin.co.uk/#QkGoYymoqlkpWtIE.97). Opinion polls predict a very close result. Being Labour, I never believe opinion polls. Britain could well vote to leave. But I’m also an […]
read more »Whatever the outcome of the Durban discussions, the EU should give priority to agreeing its draft energy efficiency directive, which will be good for human health and energy security as well as climate protection. It should also strengthen the Emissions Trading System by setting a floor price for the carbon permits.
read more »Video of Mike Childs, Head of Science, Policy and Research at Friends of the Earth, Fintan Hurley, Scientific Director at the Institute of Occupational Medicine, and me discussing this. http://www.agreenerlifeagreenerworld.net/2016/06/experts-warn-leaving-eu-would-be.html
read more »The Conservative Party is planning new subsidies for coal power stations. This is a striking historic reversal, because the Tories have traditionally been anti-coal.
read more »The European Commission should focus on proposing specific policies, rather than modelling different scenarios. It has done well with its energy efficiency proposal; now it should propose strengthening the ETS and setting a 2030 renewables target.
read more »The UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources and the UCL European Institute have released a new paper on Brexit and the impact on UK climate and energy policy. This paper, written by Professor Michael Grubb, UCL ISR and Stephen Tindale, Director, Alvin Weinberg Foundation analyses the implications of Brexit for the UK’s energy sector. Despite significant uncertainties, the […]
read more »CER has now published my policy brief on ‘State aid and energy: climate action is more important than the single market’.
read more »My comments to the European Commission, saying that it should approve the UK government’s application to sign a contract with EDF energy to build a new nuclear power station.
read more »The European Commission’s Energy Union paper is too timid, too bureaucratic and lacking any focus.
read more »Political leaders must outline a vision of what European integration can add in a globalised world. Reforming Europe’s policies and performance is more important than changing its treaties.
read more »With the Paris climate COP about to begin, encouraging figures showing EU greenhouse gas reductions indicate there may be some hope amongst all the fears.
read more »My CER blog on how Europe should reduce its dependence on Russian gas
read more »The Committee on Climate Change sensibly calls for an ‘all of the above’ approach to decarbonisation.
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The EU should spend less money on agriculture and more on improving the econommies of poorer member-states and on climate protection.
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The European Commission has proposed that subsidies to hard coal should be phased out by 2014. This is good, but must be agreed by EU national governments, some of whom will almost certainly try to extend the deadline.
read more »What will be the impact of Brexit on clean energy in the UK? Answer: nobody knows, because nothing is remotely clear in British politics now. Who will be prime minister? Will there be an early general election? What will be the relationship between the UK and the remaining EU member-states? Will there even be a […]
read more »Outside the EU, the UK could theoretically become a new Norway, with very high environmental standards. Pigs could also fly.
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