Energy & Climate Change

The British government has turned down millions of pounds of EU funding to help those affected by flooding and lack of food. Hundreds of thousands across the UK are so poor that they are having to rely on charitable food banks to stave off hunger. The EU parliament agreed to provide aid for those suffering […]

Today, the Global Carbon Project (GCP) released the 2015 version of the Global Carbon Budget, which provides estimates for global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion, industrial processes, and land use change. I sat down with Professor Corinne Le Quéré, who led the 2015 Global Carbon Budget release and is the Director of the Tyndall […]

A quick glance at the many issues on the table of the international climate negotiations points to the myriad facets of our everyday lives that are intertwined with the climate change problem. Whether it is how we produce our food, our energy, our means of transport, or how we manage financial flows, technology transfer or […]

Since the Danish national election in June, the new government – a minority government consisting of the liberal party Venstre led by Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen – has started to roll back Denmark’s climate change commitment.  The new government’s return to a more critical climate position is likely to have a negative impact on […]

The literature on European environmental policy has rapidly expanded over the last ten years. Between 2010 and 2015, there were over seven hundred articles about the European Union and environmental policy, compared to only two hundred and fifty articles between 2000 and 2005.[1] Ironically, given its focus, much of this literature is written outside of […]

More and more academics and institutions are discussing how to address climate change in their own activities. Our own institution, the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, has recently drafted a Travel Strategy, and an accompanying Working paper (‘Towards a Culture of Low-Carbon Research for the 21st Century’) to reduce our collective travel impact on […]

With the Paris climate summit around the corner, and substantial research efforts to catalogue and understand an increasing number of climate policy initiatives, there is little doubt that much is already happening to address climate change.[1] But what does all this effort really amount to? And how will we know? One way to improve our […]

The revelation of Volkswagen’s deception has left consumers, politicians, national authorities, and environmental organisations reeling. Trust in big business and industry has taken a nosedive, but it is not the first time a big company has deceived consumers and authorities, and it is unlikely to be the last scandal.  Given the lobbying power of car […]

Last week’s announcement from Drax (the energy company that owns and operates the largest power station in the UK) that it would no longer invest in Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) development at its Selby plant came as little surprise. The news joins a litany of other stumbling blocks that CCS has suffered on its […]

Last Wednesday, Jean-Claude Juncker delivered his first State of the European Union (SOTEU) address. This speech – the longest since Barroso started yearly SOTEU back in 2010 – is a key agenda-setting moment for the Commission President, providing the opportunity to set out a personal vision on the major issues facing the European Union today. […]