Most read.
Most Recent
‘Pedal on Parliament’ pushes for a cycle-friendly Scotland
Yesterday I was one of the estimated 4,000 people who turned up to attend the Pedal on Parliament (POP) rally in Edinburgh to make Scotland a ‘cycle-friendly nation’. As someone who comes from the Netherlands, I know just how good it can be to cycle in a country that respects, encourages and invests in cyclists. [...]
Read more
Cool heads needed in a warming climate
A climate milestone, highest in human history, a ‘mayday’ call by the planet. However it’s portrayed, it’s a disheartening fact that on 9 May the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth’s atmosphere, as measured by an observatory in Hawaii, topped the symbolically important level of 400 parts per million (400ppm). So what’s the [...]
Read more
Why ’400ppm’ is a number we should all care about
Over recent weeks, climate scientists and environmentalists have been carefully watching the output from a remote data collection point in Mauna Loa, Hawaii, which measures the volume of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere. And now we’ve heard confirmation that levels have reached 400 parts per million – the highest since the Pliocene era which finished 3 million years ago.
Read more
Does airport expansion = economic growth?
There are plenty of loud voices trying to make politicians believe that airport expansion in the South East is what we need to lift the UK out of recession. But is this simply wishful thinking? How much evidence is there that simply building more runways, so that more flights can go to more places, will [...]
Read more
Emissions trading – would you like fries with your carbon?
Recently, the fight against climate change suffered a serious blow as MEPs in the European Parliament narrowly voted against a plan to shore up the EU’s struggling emissions trading scheme (ETS). The proposals – known as ‘backloading’ – would have pushed up the price of carbon, which had sunk to record lows. In fact, ahead [...]
Read more
The 23 trillion dollar question – how green is your pension?
Twenty-three trillion dollars. That’s a lot of money. It’s also the amount that is invested globally in fossil fuels, including everything from large institutional money to our own individual pensions. Investing in fossil fuels shares (like shares of oil companies) is often considered a safe choice with minimal risk. But is it really that safe [...]
Read more
Cambodia diary 25: what’s a forest worth?
Chiclob is a small community in the north-east corner of the Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary (PPWS). During 2012 it was one of four communities in PPWS to be granted its own Community Protected Area (CPA). This legal status gives them rights over a block of forest, in this case of 2,989 hectares, for the next [...]
Read more
Shale gas – what are the real risks?
Last year I was at a Shell-sponsored debate on shale gas when I was startled to be accused by a member of the public of being responsible, along with Greenpeace and the BBC, for rumours that hydraulic fracturing, the ‘fracking’ process used to extract shale gas from deep underground, could trigger a volcano in the [...]
Read more
Asia Pulp and Paper – turning a corner or more of the same?
Indonesia has the second largest natural tropical forests on the planet and these have endured continual threats from illegal logging and unsustainable practices for decades. WWF and many other local and international groups are working to turn these problems around to ensure ‘High Conservation Value Forests’ are left standing. It would be great to think [...]
Read more
Going net positive and doing it well
The wisdom of the crowd was particularly evident at our pivotal Net Positive conference. The attendees – 200 sustainability experts – offered many great insights for firms stepping up a gear. Their guide to going net positive is available via Green Mondays. For a company to reach a net positive result, it’ll need to make [...]
Read more
