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 …
Wales forges ahead on the environment
On Sunday a default speed limit of 20 miles an hour in urban areas came into force in Wales. A public health study estimates that this will result in 40% fewer collisions every year, saving 6 to 10 lives and avoiding 1,200 …
Time to join alliance to end oil production
In an unprecedented referendum this month, the people of Ecuador voted to stop oil drilling in the Yasuní National Park in the Amazon. Despite dire warning about economic collapse, 59% backed the ban and the state oil company now has a year …
Greenwashing LNG
Threatened by action to reduce climate emissions the gas industry has a long history of claiming to be green. Leaked documents show how they are now trying to convince the world that liquified natural gas (LNG) is the best thing …
Corporate courts threaten climate action
The EU is planning to withdraw from a treaty which holds back climate progress and allows fossil fuel companies to sue governments in a special court. The UK Government seems content to stick with it, risking the transition away from fossil …
Activist target Grangemouth as politicians dither
With weather records tumbling and climate change accelerating, grassroots activism sees a boost this week as activists join a five-day climate camp near the Grangemouth refinery and petrochemical plant. We had the world’s hottest day ever recorded last week, which …
Labour’s green plan – not good enough
Last week Labour promised to make Britain a clean energy superpower, but they will need to do a lot more if they are to be credible on climate. Their much-trailed proposals have been backwards and forwards on the details for …
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 …
Critical materials and the energy transition
Nothing in life is free and the transition to renewable energy and electric vehicles comes with human and environmental costs. A new report from Friends of the Earth Scotland called ‘Unearthing injustice’ looks at the human rights abuses and environmental destruction currently caused …
Wildfires and Big Oil
New science linking fossil fuel companies to wildfires could lead to massive damage claims. The science of attribution of major weather events to climate change has come on leaps and bounds in recent years. Instead of always having to say “of …
Legal challenges push governments on climate
From the Netherlands to the United States, more and more legal actions are being brought to try to force governments to do the right thing on climate change. The same kind of scrutiny might be about to be turned upon Scotland’s …
Oily influence vs fossil-free politics
As a hundred thousand people on the streets of London for Extinction Rebellion’s Big One have been reminding us of the existential threat of climate change and 1,300 oil workers have gone on strike because oil companies aren’t sharing their record profits, …