Robert Hickson • May 25, 2021 •
Several significant statements or declarations have been made recently. Some are signals of change, others are just signalling. The International Energy Agency has long been criticised for misreading renewable energy trends. Last week though, in their report Net Zero by 2050 they made a recommendation: There is no need for investment in new fossil … Read More
Guest Author • Apr 18, 2018 •
Leif Wenar, King’s College London This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Donald Trump tweeted something true recently. Responding to the protests in Iran, the US president stated that “The people are finally getting wise as to how their money and wealth is being stolen and squandered.” Trump’s point is … Read More
Michael Reddell • Apr 10, 2018 •
My quick post on Saturday, in response to someone’s comment, was designed simply to illustrate what should have been quite an obvious point: looking across countries in any particular year, countries with large populations don’t tend to be richer (per capita GDP) than countries with small populations. Just among the very big countries, the United States is towards … Read More
Robert Hickson • Apr 09, 2018 •
We are starting to see more scenarios about getting to a “decarbonised” future. One where greenhouse gas emissions are no longer a problem. Many scenarios are forgettable. The good ones have the power to create the change. Shell has added a new futures scenario, called Sky, to its New Lens scenario set. I think … Read More
Guest Author • Nov 09, 2017 •
By Alison Browne, University of Manchester and Mike Foden, Keele University. Fatbergs – enormous solid masses of oil, grease, wet wipes and other hygiene products that congeal together to cause major blockages – are wreaking havoc on the sewers of cities around the world. A 130 tonne specimen described as a “monster” recently caused backups … Read More
Michael Reddell • Mar 31, 2017 •
The contribution of natural resources to the prosperity of nations is much-debated. There is little doubt that a) natural resources can be wasted, mismanaged etc, such that a country well-provided for by nature still ends up pretty poor (Zambia is my favourite example, partly because I worked there), and b) that it is perfectly feasible for some countries to do … Read More
Erica Mather • May 20, 2016 •
As thick heavy fuel oil washed ashore in the wake of the Rena grounding on the Astrolabe reef, smothering beaches and birds along the Bay of Plenty coast, public outrage mounted. Intense media coverage put pressure on environmental managers to answer difficult questions: what was the extent of the impact? How long would it take for the marine environment … Read More
Bryan Walker • Oct 23, 2014 •
It is depressingly apparent that powerful forces in the global economy are set to carry on with the exploration for and use of fossil fuels as a primary source of energy for decades to come. Oxfam has produced a report identifying the confluence of fossil fuel companies, governments and investors which givers momentum to the […] … Read More
Mr February • Sep 09, 2014 •
The New Zealand Labour Party announced their climate change policy on 24 August; the Sunday before last Sunday. At first glance, it sounds refreshingly like a policy that takes anthropogenic global warming seriously. From the announcement: A Labour Government will put in place a comprehensive climate change strategy focusing on both mitigation and adaptation, establish […] … Read More
Bryan Walker • Jul 17, 2014 •
In his interview on TV3’s The Nation last weekend David Shearer declared a Labour Party policy on oil and gas drilling which, like the Government’s, fails to confront the reality of climate change. Drilling will continue. The approval processes will be improved, the regulations will be tight, the money gained will be used well, but […] … Read More